(OTTAWA) Ukrainians continue to flock to Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Permit (CUATU) applications eight months after the launch of the program, which aims to provide these displaced people with a fast track to temporary residency in Canada for three years. . the war.
About 14,000 applications are made each week, Canada’s Ambassador to Ukraine Larisa Galadza noted Thursday during an appearance before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee. In her opinion, the program and the number of applicants are “unprecedented”.
Data released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that between March 17 and November 8, Ottawa received approximately 676,000 applications, of which nearly 379,000 were approved.
However, only about 80,000 to 90,000 people have arrived in the country, the ambassador said, adding that the government does not know how many Ukrainians are coming to Canada under the program and how many plan to settle in the country permanently.
Senator Michael MacDonald of Nova Scotia then asked him what obstacles face hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who have been admitted and are yet to come.
“Some might encounter obstacles when exiting,” she replied. Men of fighting age are barred from leaving the country under martial law, but they may have applied for and been granted a visa in hopes of being able to leave at some point. »
His “personal theory” is that for many Ukrainians, having that three-year visa in their pocket “just in case” they need it is “a plan B, insurance.” Ukrainians also perceive Canada as a “friendly” country, she noted. The country also has the world’s largest population of Ukrainian descent after Ukraine and Russia.
Justin Trudeau’s administration initially promised to process “normal and non-complex cases” within 14 days with AVUCU.
When the program was launched in mid-March, all major opposition parties in the House of Commons called for cuts in bureaucracy for Ukrainians fleeing the war. The visa requirements remaining under AVUCU, in addition to the requirement to provide biometric data, have been widely criticized.
Ottawa had also promised charter flight options for everyone eligible for AVUCU. Ultimately, only three flights were operated, with approximately 900 nationals.
The government then announced an initiative to fund the transportation of 10,000 Ukrainians bound for Canada through a collection of points and cash, but The Canadian Press reported in August that barely 800 tickets had been distributed.
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