e-2747 (Citizenship and immigration)

The Government of Canada is aware of the serious impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic on families who are separated by international borders and notes that, although COVID-19 has temporarily lengthened processing times for spousal sponsorships and visa applications, family reunification remains a priority.

While the Government has taken measures to close the border to the non-essential movement of persons in order to protect the health and safety of Canadians and Canadian residents, exceptions have been in place since March.  These exemptions were further relaxed on June 8, 2020. As of this date, immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, including spouses, common law partners and dependent children, who hold the required immigration documents and intend to remain in Canada for more than 15 days, can travel to and enter Canada, without need to prove that they’re travelling for a non-discretionary purpose.  On October 8, 2020, the Government broadened the border exemption for extended family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, including similarly situated foreign nationals who have been in an exclusive dating relationship with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of at least one year.

There is no question that the global COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for applicants abroad and Canada’s immigration system as a whole, requiring new procedures to protect the health and safety of both clients and staff. While the Government has continued to accept and process family sponsorship applications, requirements for immigration and sponsorship applications, such as in-person interviews, paper-based documentation and security screening all face steep challenges in a constantly evolving pandemic situation, with different workplace requirements regionally in Canada and internationally. The Government is consequently moving forward with new and innovative measures to help address processing issues and will communicate these changes to clients as they become available.  

As examples, the Government has introduced a pilot to digitize spousal applications which will facilitate the review of applications, allowing officers in Canada and abroad to process them remotely, and a new public policy effective September 22, 2020, exempts permanent residence applicants from the biometric collection requirement if they have previously provided their biometrics to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada within the last ten years.  The Government has also increased the number of decision makers on spousal applications in Canada by 66%, to process spousal applications more quickly and reduce couples’ wait times.  With these initiatives, IRCC aims to accelerate, prioritize and finalize approximately 6,000 spousal applications each month from October until December 2020. Combined with processing to date, this rate will lead to about 49,000 decisions by the end of this year.

The Government is also processing applications for temporary resident visas where there is an exemption under the current travel restrictions, such as those existing for immediate and extended family members.  Those with permanent resident applications in progress may still apply for a temporary resident visa, as dual intent is not a barrier to visa issuance, however, as with all temporary resident visas, the applicant must satisfy the officer that they would leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for stay. 

Nonetheless, the Government recognizes your concerns and will take the opportunity to review program delivery instructions for immediate family members who apply for a temporary residence visa to rejoin a family member while they have a family reunification permanent residence application in process, to ensure that no applications are refused for reasons beyond their individual merits.