For family re-unification, accepted refugees and Protected Persons in Canada are allowed to include their dependents in their permanent residence application. The family members overseas will not receive their visa to travel to Canada until after the principal applicant in Canada has received their permanent residence.

However, this family unification does not seem to benefit the Refugees and the Protected Persons as such due to discrimination and the excessive delay in the way IRCC processes the Refugee's Permanent Residence Applications. Many of the Refugees and Protected Persons had separated for years from their overseas family members before their asylum claim was accepted. They still experience another long wait for their permanent residence application to be approved talk less of their overseas dependents. This continuous separation of the In-Canada Refugees and Protected persons from their overseas family members is having devastating consequences on the refugees' well-being and their mental health. 

The present processing time for the overseas Spouses of Family Class is 14 months, whereas the processing time for the Protected Persons' spouses is around 50 months (More than 4 years).

Faster family reunification in Canada is the only way for the Government of Canada to ensure respect for the In-Canada Protected Persons and Refugees' right to family life and family unity. A family reunification delayed is a family reunification denied.

On May 26, 2023, the Honorable Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced new measures to strengthen family reunification by issuing faster temporary residence visas and open work permits to Spouses of Family Class Permanent residence applicants, but Spouses of Protected Persons with ongoing permanent residence applications were excluded.

An overarching principle of international human rights law is the principle of non-discrimination.  The principle of non-discrimination requires that similarly situated individuals should enjoy the same rights and receive similar treatment. This includes measures of faster family reunification. This is the individuals’ right to family life and family unity, regardless of their immigration or other status. Refugees and Protected Persons too have rights to faster family unifications like foreign workers, international students, permanent residents, and Canadian citizens.

As the world will soon be celebrating this year's World Refugee Day on June 20, the Refugees and the Protected Persons in Canada call upon the Government of Canada and IRCC Minister to extend the announced May 26 measures of faster Temporary Residence Visa and Spousal Open Work Permits to the spouses of Refugees and Protected Persons. We also call on the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration to address the discrimination and the  high rate of visa rejections for the overseas family members of Refugees and Protected Persons despite many of them meeting the requirements of Paragraph 179(b).

Thank you for your concerns and support in signing this petition.