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New special humanitarian programs announced due to conflicts in Sudan and between Israel - Hamas

Published: Jan 3, 2024

Two new programs were announced at the end of December: one with regard to people in or from Sudan (December 28, 2023), and the other for people affected by the Israel – Hamas conflict (December 21, 2023). I am not providing every detail of these programs. At the time of posting this notice, the programs were not 100% open and many details had not yet been posted.

Humanitarian pathway for people affected by the conflict in Sudan

There is already a program in place giving temporary status for citizens of Sudan already in Canada. On December 28 IRCC announced a pathway for people to reunite with their family members in Canada permanently if they:

  1. resided in Sudan when the conflict began on April 15, 2023, and;
  2. are extended family members, as well as their immediate family members, of Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents.

An "extended family member" is defined as being a child of any age, grandchild, parent, grandparent, or sibling of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is living in Canada. The family member in Canada will also need to agree to support the applicant. This program may extend to non-Sudanese national who resided in Sudan when the conflict began on April 15, 2023.

Immigration measures to help people affected by the Israel – Hamas conflict

On January 9, 2023 IRCC will be introducing special measures to support temporary (not permanent) residence for people in Gaza who are related to Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents. Eligible applicants include spouses, common-law partners, children regardless of age, grandchildren, siblings, parents or grandparents of a Canadian anchor relative as well as their immediate family members. The Canadian citizen or Canadian permanent resident anchor must be currently residing in Canada. Only 1,000 applications are being accepted!

These programs are in addition to various other humanitarian programs including special pathways to permanent residence for Ukrainians, for citizens of Iran, and a family-based humanitarian program for up to 11,000 people from Columbia, Haiti, or Venezuela.

Each program has its own rules and eligibility requirements.

 

 

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