(OTTAWA) Ukrainians seeking refuge in Canada will have a few more months to apply for temporary asylum, federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser announced on Wednesday.
The deadline for applying for a three-year emergency visa was first set for March 31 next year, but Ukrainians and their family members will now be able to apply until July 15.
After that date, Ukrainians will still be able to apply for “regular” work, study and visitor permits to come to Canada after the application period has expired, but they will have to pay the usual fees associated with such applications.
“I encourage people who are considering coming to Canada to apply and, if you need Canada’s protection, to come,” Fraser said Wednesday at a press conference at Cafe Ukraine in Ottawa. a voluntary reception center for people displaced from this war-ravaged country.
Ukrainians who received emergency visas will have until March 31 next year to come to Canada, where the federal government will offer them a one-time income support payment and two weeks of hotel accommodation.
Those who have already arrived will also have one year to decide whether or not to extend their temporary visa if they wish to remain in Canada.
The number of arrivals in March has increased and the impending deadline for people to come to Canada has made people nervous, said Ihor Michalchyshyn, director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.
The expansion of the program will give those who settle refugees some certainty and allow Ukrainians to keep their options open, he said on Friday.
190,000 Ukrainians arrived
As of March 16, 616,429 people have been authorized to come to Canada under the program, although only about 190,000 Ukrainians have arrived in the country.
The government has indicated it would be willing to further extend the deadlines if the situation in Ukraine does not improve, Michalchyshyn said.
“We hope that the situation will improve, thanks to the military support that Canada and other allies are offering to Ukraine, and we hope that people can start thinking about planning their return home in the near future,” said he declared. But that obviously depends on what Russia does militarily. »
Meanwhile, Minister Fraser has indicated that timelines for applications and arrivals help the department manage the immigration system with a certain level of certainty.
Conservative immigration critic Tom Kmiec said the announcement was a missed opportunity to give Ukrainian families long-term certainty about Canada’s immigration plans.
“There are a lot of benefits to rolling out what the permanent program would look like — if there’s a cap or a number, what are the eligibility criteria, just so people can plan their lives,” Ms. .Kmiec.
Minister Fraser said there were sore points within the Ukrainian government over longer-term plans for an immigration program. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he hoped Ukrainians would return when the war ended to help rebuild the country.
“We will make decisions not only based on what is being discussed behind closed doors in Ottawa, but also based on commitments to Ukraine, its government and, above all, our Canadian Ukrainian community,” said he assured.
Last year, the Canadian government announced it would launch a family reunification program to allow Ukrainians who have family members in Canada to apply for permanent residency, but has not since released any details about the program. .