Canadian immigration department IRCC has recently released important information about how the nationals of Columbia, Haiti, and Venezuela can apply for permanent residency in Canada on a humanitarian basis. There are certain requirements for them to meet special family ties in Canada, to be eligible for this temporary stream.
As a part of other major requirements, for a primary applicant, it is mandatory to show the following that they:
- are present at the time of visa application in Central America, Mexico, the Caribbean, or in South America;
- have Colombian, Haitian or Venezuelan nationality;
- must be a spouse, common-law partner, child (regardless of age), grandchild, parent, grandparent, or sibling of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is willing and eligible to support your application (a “support person”);
- plan to live outside of Quebec;
- have a valid passport or travel document or eligible identity document;
- Members of your immediate family (dependent child(ren) under 22 years of age, spouse, or common-law partner) may be included in your application.
Eligibility for a Sponsor
There are certain requirements mandatory to be met for an eligible sponsor of the primary applicant for this permanent residency program. It means the supporting person:
- must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, 18 years of age or older. He/She resides in Canada, outside the province of Quebec;
- must not be subject to an expulsion order;
- must not be confined in any penitentiary center, jail, reformatory, or prison;
- must not have been convicted in Canada of the offense of murder or of one of the offenses listed in Schedule I or II of the Corrections and Parole Act, or outside Canada of an equivalent offense, regardless of whether it was prosecuted by accusation if five years have not elapsed since the completion of his sentence;
- must not have been declared bankrupt under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law;
- must not be in arrears concerning the payment of any debt referred to in subsection 145 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act payable to Her Majesty in right of Canada;
- must not be receiving social assistance for reasons other than disability;
- must not have breached any sponsorship commitment or any support payment obligation ordered by a court or registered with a court;
- must not have accepted, and understanding that they should not accept any financial compensation from the foreign citizen and the family members accompanying them.
Quota system
This temporary program for permanent residency will work for one year or till the quota cap is reached. The program allows a cap of 3,500 principal applicants, as Canada intends to aid 11,000 eligible applicants and their families, through this pathway.
Settlement Services for Approved Candidates
Approved applicants may be entitled to the following settlement services:
- transitional financial assistance under the Resettlement Assistance Programme, to help meet settlement needs upon arrival;
- pre-arrival services, including an employment skills assessment and referral to a settlement service provider organization in the intended community;
- all settlement services under the Settlement Program;
Your sponsor will also be responsible for helping you settle in Canada. This means providing food if needed, other service services such as visiting doctors etc.
How to Apply for this Program?
To apply, you must submit it using the IRCC online portal. You will need to submit an affidavit signed by your support person confirming that they are willing to support you in Canada. Please note that application forms are available in English and French. The following are the documents required to apply:
PR Forms to complete online:
- Generic Application Form for Canada – for the main applicant;
- Additional Family Information: for the main applicant, as well as for her spouse or partner and each dependent child over 18 years of age (whether they accompany her or not);
- Schedule A – Background/Declaration – detailed personal history for the last 10 years or since age 18, if you are under 28 years of age;
Documents that you will upload to the system with your application:
- Annex 1: Declaration – must be completed and signed by the main applicant (will be available once applications begin);
- Photograph: a photograph of the main applicant and each family member (whether accompanying or not) that was taken within 6 months before applying (JPG or JPEG format);
- Authorization to Release Personal Information to a Designated Individual – if you wish to authorize Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to release information from your file to a person other than a representative;
- Proof of relationship: a document proving the relationship between the main applicant and the support person (for example, birth certificates to demonstrate family ties);
- Proof of status – a document for the support person to show proof of their Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status;
- Affidavit for the support person – must be completed and signed by the support person and uploaded to the system by the main applicant (will be available once applications begin);
- Identity and marital status documents: identification of the support person issued by the provincial government showing their full name, date of birth, and address to show proof that they reside outside of Quebec;
- Use of a Representative – If you wish to use an immigration representative (attorney or consultant) to assist you with your application, the main applicant and representative must complete, print, sign, and date this form and submit it through the representative’s account;
- Police certificate(s) for the main applicant and their dependents over 18 years of age – You must obtain a police certificate from each country or territory where you have lived for six consecutive months or more since turning 18 years of age;
- Travel documents and passports: passports, travel documents or other identification documents of the main applicant and their dependents showing their nationality;
After you have submitted all the documents, IRCC will make a decision and upon a successful outcome, they will check your medical and criminality backgrounds, and then will issue you COPR.