Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there had been uncertainty regarding the application status of spouses who had been sponsored for permanent residence by their partners living in Canada. To address the concerns of Canada Spouse Visa applicants, the government has reiterated that it will prioritize family reunification through compassionate and innovative methods – while following the guidance of public health experts.
On 24th September, the Canada immigration minister announced that visa application processing for spouses of Canadian permanent residents will be sped up, in order to ensure that partners can reunite and build their lives in the country together. The total number of decision makers processing spouse immigration applications has been increased by 66% – to improve processing speed and reduce the waiting period for couples to reunite.
By using new technology, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is digitizing paper-based applications for Spouse PR Canada, so that these applications can be efficiently processed by the decision makers, who are currently working remotely across different locations. In the coming weeks, more functional biometrics measures will be implemented and provisions will be made to virtually conduct interviews with the family members.
The aim is to accelerate processing, prioritize spousal applications, and announce a final verdict on almost 6,000 Canada Spouse Visa applications every month, between October and December 2020. If we include the spousal applications already processed, the total number of decisions issued on these applications will reach 49,000 by year-end. This is a positive sign for aspiring immigrants who may be worried about processing delays. To find out more about spouse sponsorship and family immigration to Canada, consult seasoned experts at Abhinav Immigration Services.
For more information, you can connect with us on 8595338595 or [email protected]