Good news for Canadian visa aspirants!
Celebrating its citizenship week, the Canadian government has launched a reformed scheme under family-class immigration.
- Family members and spouses of those who are already living in Canada can apply for a temporary visa, and their applications will be processed within 30 days!
- The temporary resident visa’s processing time has been reduced, with an approval rate of over 90%.
- Extensions have been given to those whose work visas’ are expiring between August 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023.
The minister of immigration, Sean Fraser, launched this scheme during their citizenship week and it aims at ‘family unification’ , one of the pillars of Canadian immigration.
Family Class Immigration: What Is It?
The family-class immigration system is one of Canada\’s biggest policies implemented in an attempt to attract immigration. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched this policy to help unite immigrants with their families.
If someone you know is a Canadian citizen or has permanent residency in Canada, they can sponsor you to migrate to Canada as per the Family Class Immigration Act.
However, you must be
- their spouse or common-law partner
- their dependent child
- their spouse or common-law dependent child
- their grandchild
Those who can’t apply for sponsorship are:
- brother or sister
- uncle or ant
- Nephew or niece
- Other relative
Parents and grandparents can apply under special classifications known as the Super Visa.
You can also apply for a temporary resident visa or a visitor visa and stay in Canada for up to 6 months. The processing time for TRV has been reduced to 30 days, which means if your visa gets approved, you can be on your way to Canada in just 4 weeks.
SUPER VISA: WHO CAN APPLY AND WHAT IS THE ELIGIBILITY?
The super visa is a multi-entry visa that allows multiple entries to Canada for a period of up to 10 years. It is different from a general multiple entry visa, as super visas allow individuals to stay for up to 5 years at a time in Canada.
The super visa is a branch of family-class immigration and aims at uniting old-age dependents with their working younger generations.
The Canadian super visa application costs 100 CAD.
The processing time varies with each application.
To be eligible for a super visa, you must be
- A parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen/ permanent residence holder of Canada
- Have a signed letter from your child or grandchild stating that they are inviting you to Canada.
The letter must include:
- Guarantee of financial support for the length of the stay
- List and number of people in the household
- A copy of their Canadian citizenship or permanent residency in the form of a passport or PR card.
- Proof of private medical insurance from a Canadian insurance company
Medical insurance needs to
- Be paid in advance, either in installments or completely.
- Be valid for one year from the date of entry.
- Coverage of health care and hospitalisation
- Provide 100,000 CAD as emergency coverage.
The following are also required for Canada\’s super visa:
- Proof of funds, in the form
- Employment insurance benefit statements
- Employment letter including salary, job title, and description
- Bank statements
SPOUSE VISA: WHO IS ELIGIBLE AND HOW TO APPLY?
A spouse visa, under family-class immigration, is defined as a visa for the spouses. The spouses are recommended to contribute to the Canadian workforce, find a suitable occupation as per the Canadian occupation demand list, and apply for a work permit.
This way, they can easily acquire permanent residence and become the working force of the country.
The spouse visa application costs 490 CAD.
If you are looking for a spouse visa under family-class immigration, then you must consider the following things:
- You and your partner should be 18 years of age or older.
- You or your partner should be a Canadian citizen or hold permanent residence.
- Neither of you should be taking government aid in cases of disability.
- Your marriage must be legal.
The following documents are required for a spouse visa under family class immigration:
- Passport information
- Police verification
- Marriage certificate
- Medical certificate
- Proof of funds, aforementioned
ELIGIBILITY TO BECOME A SPONSOR
The following requirements must be met in order to be eligible for family-class immigration sponsorship:
- You should be 18 years of age or older.
- You should be a Canadian citizen and hold permanent residence in Canada.
- Your relationship with the person must be at least one year old.
- You should also hold a valid work permit, as per the Canadian occupation demand list, and be willing to share bank statements, proof of funds, and/or undergo police verification.