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Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will start taking new applications to sponsor parents and grandparents on January 4, 2016 at 8:00am, EST. The cap on the number of applications CIC will accept will still be 5,000 instead of 10,000 as what the Liberal campaign committed.
During the most recent federal election campaign, the Liberal government announced that they "will make family reunification one of its core immigration priorities, because when families are able to stay together, their integration to Canada and ability to work and grow their communities all improve. Immediate steps will include:
- Nearly doubling the budget for family class immigration processing, in order to restore processing times to the levels achieved before the Harper decade.
- Doubling the number of new applications allowed each year, for parents and grandparents, from 5,000 to 10,000.
- Providing greater access to applicants with Canadian siblings, by granting additional points under the Express Entry system. We will also conduct a review of the program, ensuring that processing times are efficient.
- Restoring the maximum age for dependents to 22 instead of 19, allowing Canadians – often live-in caregivers – to bring their children to Canada.
- Granting immediate permanent residency to new spouses entering Canada, rather than imposing a two-year conditional status that puts spouses – often women – in a position of extreme vulnerability."
Is this another campaign broken promise or it can be argued that it was never promised that it would take place in 2016? What about the other 4 promises listed above? Can you still hold your breath for real change?
Regardless whether you are disappointed or pleased at this cap remaining unchanged, there will be a line-up of deliveries of the application packages at CIC office's door on January 4, 2016 at 8:00am, EST.
If you need assistance, contact Mary Zhang at our office in Markham. Mary speaks Chinese.