COVID-19, Canada makes important changes to immigration instructions

Canada makes important changes to immigration instructions

Canada has released new instructions for citizenship, temporary residence applicants, permanent residents, and their families. The country is currently working hard to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Canada decided to make further changes to the special coronavirus prevention measures that they had released. The new rules will also affect immigrants and their families.

Canada still has to work hard to keep residents home and slow down the infection rate. However, the Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is continuing the process of assessing immigration and citizenship applications. They are taking steps in order to prevent delays in overall processing and refusals.

Updates to consider:

According to the immigration department, these are the primary changes that should be kept in mind.

• All immigration applicants should expect some delays because IRCC offices are only keeping essential staff for now. Expedited processing is no longer an option unless it is a special circumstance dictated by the Migration Program Manager of the responsible IRCC office. IRCC will request extra documents like police certificates, medical examinations, biometrics, and passports, which they might need for evaluating citizenship and immigration applications. However, all applicants will be given an extension of up to 90 days for sending the additional documents.
• Canada has also decided to narrow the scope of immediate family members and tighten the travel restrictions. The country is trying its best to cut down on non-essential international travel to ensure the health and safety of all the residents. Immediate family members will only include parents and step-parents of the resident and their spouse or common-law partner. Guardians and tutors will also be allowed.
• Temporary residence applicants in China who place an urgent travel request will have to submit an online application and flag it to IRCC Beijing for timely processing. IRCC citizenship officers will allow temporary residents to reschedule missed citizenship appointments after they return to the country.

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