www.thestar.com
Ottawa is set to introduce a “super visa” allowing parents and grandparents of immigrants to visit Canada in lieu of granting them permanent status as part of a plan to address a backlog in immigration sponsorships of the elderly.
“The special visa will allow them to stay here for a very long time without having to leave Canada,” a government source told the Star before details of the plan were to be released at a noon news conference in Mississauga.
There are currently 160,000 parents and grandparents waiting to join their loved ones in Canada, but Ottawa only grants about 15,000 visas to the group each year. The backlog is growing by 14,000 a year.
It can take up to seven years for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their folks to immigrate to Canada. Staying in the country as visitors won’t afford there elderly the same rights as permanent residents.
To reduce the current backlog, the source said the federal government will “significantly” increase the annual quota to accept a historical number of parents and grandparents to Canada.
To curb a potential backlog in future, Ottawa will introduce new regulations to cap the yearly number of sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents to control intake.
“There will be a national consultation from town hall to town hall for input to redesign the sponsorship program. The government is open to all ideas,” said the source. “The four-step action plan will be implemented in 2012.”
At Friday’s news conference, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is also expected to release the breakdown of immigrants under each stream — economic skilled immigrants, family reunifications and refugees — Ottawa plans to bring into Canada in 2012.
In his annual report, Kenney said he plans to keep Canada’s immigration levels steady in the range of between 240,000 and 265,000 in 2012.
Ottawa is set to introduce a “super visa” allowing parents and grandparents of immigrants to visit Canada in lieu of granting them permanent status as part of a plan to address a backlog in immigration sponsorships of the elderly.
“The special visa will allow them to stay here for a very long time without having to leave Canada,” a government source told the Star before details of the plan were to be released at a noon news conference in Mississauga.
There are currently 160,000 parents and grandparents waiting to join their loved ones in Canada, but Ottawa only grants about 15,000 visas to the group each year. The backlog is growing by 14,000 a year.
It can take up to seven years for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their folks to immigrate to Canada. Staying in the country as visitors won’t afford there elderly the same rights as permanent residents.
To reduce the current backlog, the source said the federal government will “significantly” increase the annual quota to accept a historical number of parents and grandparents to Canada.
To curb a potential backlog in future, Ottawa will introduce new regulations to cap the yearly number of sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents to control intake.
“There will be a national consultation from town hall to town hall for input to redesign the sponsorship program. The government is open to all ideas,” said the source. “The four-step action plan will be implemented in 2012.”
At Friday’s news conference, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is also expected to release the breakdown of immigrants under each stream — economic skilled immigrants, family reunifications and refugees — Ottawa plans to bring into Canada in 2012.
In his annual report, Kenney said he plans to keep Canada’s immigration levels steady in the range of between 240,000 and 265,000 in 2012.
