Canada will support Turkish and Syrian temporary residents by introducing new initiatives. The news came out during an announcement made by Sean Fraser. This was an attempt by the immigration minister to compensate for the loss that occurred as a result of the Turkey-Syria earthquake disaster. This disaster took place in the previous month of February.
These initiatives will remain effective between March 29 and September 25, 2023. Fraser declared the following measures:
- Prioritizing the processing times for Turkish and Syrians already residing in Canada. This will be related to their temporary stay extension.
- Turkish and Syrians with a temporary residence status in Canada shall be able to obtain their new Open Work Permits. The OWPs will have validity for up to a maximum of three years.
- IRCC will offer more convenience to temporary residents living in Canada so that they can convert their status to a different temporary visa.
- Furthermore, the department will also do away with the requirements related to travel documents and passports. Those overseas trying to gain Canadian PR will find it helpful.
- IRCC will also do away with the fee required for temporary passports, emergency travel documents, and passports with a specific validity. Additionally, it includes Canadian citizenship certificates and PR-related travel documents. This will apply to Canadian citizens and those in Turkey and Syria holding a PR status but seeking to come back to Canada.
IRCC states that other essential details will be on its official website soon in the upcoming weeks.
Canada will support Turkish and Syrian temporary residents through their humanitarian efforts
The February 6 earthquake disaster in Turkey and Syria confirmed that around 50,000 people lost their lives and countless people became homeless too.
Additionally, Canada offered around $50 million in Humanitarian support for the two countries.
Canada is home to Syrian and Turkish communities
In November 2015, Canada introduced a significant initiative concerning Syrian refugees. In about a hundred days, the country received over 25,000 Syrian Refugees until February 2016.
Furthermore, the 2021 Census data revealed that around 60,795 refugees in Canada who were born in Syria contributed to more than 27.8 percent of new refugees in Canada. This data is relevant from 2016 to 2021.
Syria has carved its place as a top source country for immigration to Canada for newcomers. Last year (2022), 8,500 Syrians gained permanent residence in Canada. The 2021 Census also showed that approximately 97,590 individuals claimed Syria as their birth country.
The same Census data also reported that around 35,270 people confirmed Turkey as their birth country.
Moreover, around 10,150 of them claimed to be recent immigrants. This further indicates that they arrived between 2016 and 2021.
According to Statistics Canada, approximately 76,740 Turkish individuals exist in Canada. Furthermore, IRCC data displays that 8,765 Turkish people with study permits got them active between 2020 and 2022.
