People who initiate a refugee claim in Canada and are found to be Convention refugees or a Person in need of protection are entitled to reunification with their immediate family members. Protected Persons can apply for Permanent Residence (PR) and their application can include family members (also known as “Dependents of Protected Persons”). At the moment, IRCC processing times for such applications are of 29 months for principal applicants and 47 months for dependents abroad.Lengthy processing times result from immigration levels set far below the actual number of applicants, causing pending applications to be deferred to the following years. This inevitably leads to minor children not seeing their parents who are Protected Persons for four years in some cases.
The worst impacts are felt by those who are separated from their spouse and young children. Family members often live in extreme insecurity in their home country, or in a place of temporary refuge. Some also face persecution. Prolonged separations damage family relationships. Families grow apart. Relationships between spouses become fragile. Children grow up in the absence of one or both parents.
Our recommendation is that family reunification in these cases can be achieved by way of Ministerial instructions to issue TRPs under section 24 of the IRPA. We believe that the establishment of a unique pathway for dependents of Protected Persons to be issued TRPs quickly and without delay is an accessible, equitable and cost-effective way to achieve IRPA’s objectives and contribute to the implementation of Canada’s international human rights obligations to children.
Please join our call to Minister Miller to issue TRPs to dependents of Protected Persons by:
- Sharing this letter with your MP and asking them to encourage the Minister to take action
- Sharing this call to action in your networks