The Parent and Grandparent Super Visa Program, which was recently halted due to various difficulties, will be re-opened to applicants on January 2, 2014.
Because of the popularity of this program in the past, there were large numbers of backlogs and problems with immigrants being admitted to Canada who did not necessarily have the financial stability needed to live in Canada.
These conditions consequently laid something of a strain on Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and taxpayers of Canada. Minister Jason Kenney of the CIC has used a considerable amount of resources and energies in improving the Canadian immigration system for the benefit of both Canadian citizens and Permanent Residents, but also potential immigrants.
In a CIC press release from Friday May 10, 2013, the four steps associated with Phase II of the “Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification”, the plan associated with the Super Visa, were briefly discussed. Below you can find approximations of the four steps:
- First Step: 50,000 parents and grandparents will be admitted to Canada in 2012 and 2013, and these numbers will continue to be high in 2014.
- Second Step: The Super-Visa program will continue to allow parents and grandparents multiple-entry permits which grant entry to Canada for up to two years at a time. No other non-immigrant visa allows visitors to stay that long.
- Third Step: The CIC will more thoroughly assess applications to ensure that sponsors are able to sufficiently support their immigrating relatives.
- Fourth Step: In 2014, 5,000 new sponsorship applications will be accepted to further reduce the current backlogs.
Canada’s immigration program is rather unique. Other countries which are similar in economic development and historical culture “do not allow grandparents to be sponsored at all or only in very limited circumstances,” while Canada is relatively liberal with grandparents.
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