Hello CD's,

For some of us atleast good news b'cos in very near future our loved ones can leave with us longer than six months and on other words Canada Govt unofficially doesn't want to give PR status to our parents.........

Good and Bad.....both things involve in this news..............


Ottawa is set to introduce a “super visa” allowing parents and grandparents of immigrants to visit Canada in lieu of granting them permanent status as part of a plan to address a backlog in immigration sponsorships of the elderly.

“The special visa will allow them to stay here for a very long time without having to leave Canada,” a government source told the Star before details of the plan were to be released at a noon news conference in Mississauga.

There are currently 160,000 parents and grandparents waiting to join their loved ones in Canada, but Ottawa only grants about 15,000 visas to the group each year. The backlog is growing by 14,000 a year.

It can take up to seven years for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor their folks to immigrate to Canada. Staying in the country as visitors won’t afford there elderly the same rights as permanent residents.

To reduce the current backlog, the source said the federal government will “significantly” increase the annual quota to accept a historical number of parents and grandparents to Canada.

To curb a potential backlog in future, Ottawa will introduce new regulations to cap the yearly number of sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents to control intake.

“There will be a national consultation from town hall to town hall for input to redesign the sponsorship program. The government is open to all ideas,” said the source. “The four-step action plan will be implemented in 2012.”

At Friday’s news conference, Immigration Minister Jason Kenney is also expected to release the breakdown of immigrants under each stream — economic skilled immigrants, family reunifications and refugees — Ottawa plans to bring into Canada in 2012.

In his annual report, Kenney said he plans to keep Canada’s immigration levels steady in the range of between 240,000 and 265,000 in 2012.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1081314--ottawa-to-introduce-super-visa-for-parents-grandparents-of-immigrants?bn=1

regards

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/immigration-minister-hits-pause-on-family-reunification-applications/article2226062/

Highlights

1) "Citizenship and Immigration Minister placed a two-year moratorium on applications from parents and grandparents seeking to reunite with family members in Canada."

2) "The moratorium is expected to reduce the backlog to about 50,000, while the government seeks to craft a new application process that matches the number of people who are allowed to apply to spaces available."

3) "In the meantime, the quota for parental and grandparental admissions will increase by 60 per cent, to 25,000 admissions a year, to further clear the backlog."

4)"For those who waiting to immigrate or to get on the list, the new 10-year visa will allow parents and grandparents to stay for as long as two years at a stretch."

5) "However they(parents) must, if required, take a medical exam first; they must purchase private medical insurance while in Canada, and their children or grandchildren must be able to demonstrate that they can support the visiting relative."

6) NDP retort: "Don Davies, NDP immigration critic, welcomed the new visa and the increased intake of parents and grandparents. But he added that the best way to overcome all of the backlogs in the immigration system would be to increase the intake from about 250,000 a year to about 330,000, or 1 per cent of the population."



My Opinion: Pretty reasonable under present circumstances. When the economy is under strain, there tends to be a backlash against increases in immigration.

Govt has to do a balancing act in order to satisfy all parties concerned besides balancing their own books. This is what the conseratives are doing. Increase parental reunification but the families pay for it themselves.

When economy does better, there will be less amplified opposition towards higher parental immigration numbers, therefore there can most likely be boost in future numbers as political parties will vie for immigrant votes.

Future of universal healthcare in Canada seems to be doomed or at least due for severe "corrections". Lest we take for granted the cushy healtcare system we currently have, Canada is not immune to fiscal implosion. Even if there is no economic विस्फोटक, healthcare in Canada is under severe strain and bound to change.

So we are only preparing ourselves ahead for the shocks ahead in the system and protecting ourselves by going private(at least in the case of our parents) .


I believe this would be the majority view of Canadians(G&M Comments section):

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/immigration-minister-hits-pause-on-family-reunification-applications/article2226062/comments/



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argyle5663

4:33 PM on November 4, 2011



Extended visas for parents and grandparents might not be a bad idea. Visas don't confer status or the right to access public services in Canada. As long as those obtaining the visas pay their own way, I have no problem with it. What we have to severely restrict is the admission as fully landed immigrants of people who would become a burden to our public benefits and health care systems. No sensible country would permit this system to continue.
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does anyone know if this Super Visa will have any effect on multiple entry visitor visa applications submitted now?

I am planning to send documents to my parents for multiple entry visa this month.
now I'm getting concerned if the Canadian embassy might force everyone to go through this super visa process which will take 8 weeks and cost more.

can anyone comment on this please?

Quote:

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Originally posted by OneIsACrowd

does anyone know if this Super Visa will have any effect on multiple entry visitor visa applications submitted now?

I am planning to send documents to my parents for multiple entry visa this month.
now I'm getting concerned if the Canadian embassy might force everyone to go through this super visa process which will take 8 weeks and cost more.

can anyone comment on this please?

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My question is this. What would happen to the existing Parents sponsorship applications that are already in the processing stage during the freeze period of 2 years? Would those be expedited? This is very much unclear.

Currently, the wait time has been extended to 49 months. Last month it was about 43. So, it means with the current Govt. plan they will either put a freeze on the processing of existing application, or increase the already expanding wait times.

Could someone please decipher what I might be missing here?

No country for old men - Canada!

My question is this. What would happen to the existing Parents sponsorship applications that are already in the processing stage during the freeze period of 2 years? Would those be expedited? This is very much unclear.

Currently, the wait time has been extended to 49 months. Last month it was about 43. So, it means with the current Govt. plan they will either put a freeze on the processing of existing application, or increase the already expanding wait times.

Could someone please decipher what I might be missing here?

No country for old men - Canada!

Quote:

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Originally posted by good_times

My question is this. What would happen to the existing Parents sponsorship applications that are already in the processing stage during the freeze period of 2 years? Would those be expedited? This is very much unclear.


I would think that the "backlog" they are referring to and aiming to clear means the in-process applications..