Immigration Announcement
IRCC to Support Sudanese Nationals Through New Immigration Measures
Recently on April 24, Sean Fraser, Canada’s minister of immigration, announced that the government would enact new immigration regulations to assist Sudanese temporary residents. They are the ones who living in Canada but may not be able to leave due to the unrest in their homeland.
Therefore, in order to assist Sudanese temporary residents, the government will enact new immigration regulations. The measures include:
- To continue working, learning, or traveling, Sudanese nationals in Canada can apply for an extension of their status there. Extensions will be provided without cost.
- The processing of finished applications for temporary and permanent residency from individuals who are still in Sudan, will also receive priority attention from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This includes requests for guest visas for eligible members of the immediate families of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
- For Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Sudan who want to leave, Canada will also eliminate the expenses for passports and travel documents for permanent residents.
Canada has a distinguished and long history of protecting the weakest elements of society, and the system is extremely concerned for the safety of everyone in Sudan, including Canadians and their families, said Minister Fraser.
According to IRCC, people who qualify for priority processing will still need to meet all other legal eligibility and admissibility standards. IRCC also reports that it is getting ready to send more officers to the area to assist in immigration-related operations. The department also claims that it is now unable to process new applications since the continuously changing scenario restricts travel within the nation. Global Affairs Canada also says that it has been ordered to halt operations in Sudan temporarily. These new actions are in response to recent turmoil in the nation brought on by a fight between two opposing military forces.
Statistics from the Census of 2021 show that:
- 17,485 Canadians identify Sudan as their culturally origin nation; and
- 4,690 more people who entered Canada recently and listed Sudan as their country of origin.
Thus, these latest regulations apply to aid Syrians and Turks who are affected by the earthquake in February of last year. This also includes those that were announced on February 23 to aid Iranians in Canada during a period of unrest.
