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With the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government of Canada placed measures to protect its citizens, landed immigrations and temporary immigrants. We, at Fidus immigration, have received inquiries from our clients about how these measures are affecting immigration, citizenship, and even passport services.
According to the Government of Canada, if you have already received your permanent residency approval on or before March 18, 2020, you are exempt from travel restrictions. This means that you can travel to Canada provided that you pass the health check which is done by the airlines if you are traveling by air. There will be another assessment at Canada’s port of entry. If you pass the health assessment at the port of entry, you can enter Canada provided that you do mandatory quarantine for 14 days (this applies to everyone, with or without symptoms). In the event that you did not make a plan to quarantine, you will be quarantined in a facility designated by the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada.
If you have an approved permanent residency, but for any reason is unable to travel to Canada while it is still valid, you need to let Canada know by filling out the IRCC Webform (https://secure.cic.gc.ca/enquiries-renseignements/canada-case-cas-eng.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1). When the time comes that you are already able to travel to Canada but your documents are already expired, use the IRCC Webform again to find out the steps that you need to take before you can come.
For those whose permanent residency is still in process, the IRCC understands that you might not be able to provide requested additional requirements such as a police certificate and medical exam. Your application will not be refused or closed because of missing documents instead you will be given an additional 90 days to complete the necessary steps. The 90 days extension also applies to the biometrics deadline. Since Service Canada temporarily stopped collecting biometrics, you are automatically given 90 more days to complete this step. Once visa offices reopen, you will need to reschedule your biometrics appointment as soon as you can.
For those who are in Canada with scheduled permanent resident landing appointments, this will be done by telephone whenever possible. You will be receiving an email to confirm the phone appointment. If it is not possible to do via telephone, your appointment will be rescheduled for a later time when the office reopens.
For those who are looking to withdraw their permanent residency application because of COVID-19 travel restrictions, you can also use the IRCC Webform. You might be eligible to receive a refund if you withdraw it within 24 hours of submitting or if IRCC has not started processing your application yet.
If you have related inquiries or questions that we have not addressed above, please don’t hesitate to contact us at pierre@fidusimmigration.com or at 403-471-8035. We are here to help during this challenging and confusing time. We, from Fidus immigration, wish you and your family well.