The federal program aimed at giving 1,000 temporary visas to Palestinians with family in Canada is experiencing real enthusiasm: two weeks after its opening, 915 applications have been received and are being processed, we learned. The duty. Quebecers who have submitted files for relatives are nevertheless concerned about the wait, which they already consider “too long”, and deplore the radio silence from Immigration Canada.
“Every day that passes, there is a risk of being killed. » A Quebecer of Palestinian origin, Ayman Oweida is very worried about the members of his family who remain prisoners in the Gaza Strip. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict, this professor in the Department of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Sherbrooke has sought by all means to remotely help his uncles and aunts and his many cousins who were forced to take refuge in the south, in Rafah. “There are 70 of them in a house of 10 people,” explains Mr. Oweida to Duty. The suffering is unimaginable. »
Mobilization, transfers of funds, meetings with deputies from his region… the Sherbrooke resident did what he could to relieve his helplessness. Launched on January 9, the federal program allowing Canadian citizens and residents to bring members of their extended family arrived like a balm.
“We were ready,” said Mr. Oweida. He helped his father, who wants to bring his two brothers — one a lawyer and the other a writer — and their wives, to fill out all the paperwork. “We had to do everything quickly. One of my uncles didn’t have his passport or even a copy. We had to provide an identity card,” explains Mr. Oweida, mentioning that it is sometimes difficult to retrieve documents when you live under bombs. “I hope the Government of Canada will understand this. »
His uncles’ files were nevertheless sent on January 10, a day after the program opened. He regrets not having received any acknowledgment of receipt since. “We tried to call to find out if the file was correct, but they gave us generic information and referred us to the website. »
Waiting and worry
Geneviève Nadeau, a Quebecer married to a Palestinian who lives in Israel, has also been struggling for a while to get her friends, the Elsayyeds, out of Gaza. Mother and father Elsayyed, who are respectively an English teacher and head of French teaching at the Ministry of Education, fled south with their three children, aged 19 to 25. “They left, came back, left, came back, and finally their house was destroyed. They live in a small room in their friends’ house in Deir el-Balah,” she says. “Will they be the next target? We do not know. »
Currently a refugee in Cairo, Haya, the eldest in the family, is the only one who was able to be evacuated last December because she had just obtained permanent residence in Canada. Since the announcement of the special program made by the Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, Geneviève Nadeau was preparing to help her friend Haya, the only one authorized to “sponsor” her family, to fill out all the forms. On January 9, when Mme Nadeau pressed the “Send” button, she was sure she was going to save the lives of four people.
But apart from an acknowledgment of receipt, she has had no news. “As for the deadlines, it’s nebulous, we don’t know how long it’s going to take,” she laments. The ironic thing is, we can’t wait. This is quite an emergency situation. »
Geneviève Nadeau cannot help but make the comparison with the more generous special programs aimed at Ukrainians or which made it possible to welcome tens of thousands of Syrians almost 10 years ago. “Why just 1000? Why don’t we release everyone who is eligible? »
Many steps
No temporary residence visa applications for Palestinians have been finalized, says Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. However, it was not possible to know whether the Palestinian files would be processed as a priority, but when asked about processing times, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada responded that they “vary depending on the details of each request.” “.
According to the procedure, the applicant must first submit the required documents via a web form. If the file is complete, a unique code is sent to them so that they can submit a temporary residence visa application.
This is followed by a series of steps to verify the admissibility and admissibility of the request, followed by a security assessment which could be completed in a third country if the people targeted by the request are able to leave Gaza.
Ayman Oweida is worried. His family put money and energy into the application, with no guarantee of success. “I would really like Canada to get more involved. We’re told they can’t guarantee what will happen after applications have been submitted. [au bureau de visas] in Egypt,” he said. “We are tired and stressed. We just think about that. »