New to Canada

Starting December 1, 2011 – the Canadian government is introducing the new Paren't and Grandparen't Super Visa, which will be valid for up to 10 years and will allow an applicant to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time without the need for renewal of their status. Paren't and Grandparen't Super Visa applicants will be required to obtain private Canadian health-care insurance for their stay in Canada.

According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) "the Super Visa is super great because processing will be quick and it will respond to a genuine need."

Tom Pang, President of The Chinese Canadian Community Alliance is quoted in the most current CIC press release, November 28, 2011: "Indeed, if they only want to come to Canada to be with their family, then all we need to do is to give them an extended visa. They will pay for their own transportation, their own health insurance, their own living expenses. That way we solve the backlog problem and they get to be united with their family."

CIC has recently announced "Phase I of Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification" to help to cut the backlog and wait times for sponsored paren'ts and grandparen'ts. This means important changes for immigrant families in the family sponsorship program. Some of these changes include:

• As of November 5, 2011, no new applications to sponsor paren'ts or grandparen'ts will be accepted by CIC for processing for up to 24 months. (This does not affect sponsorship applications for spouses, partners, dependent or adopted children and other eligible relatives.)

• This is a temporary pause to prevent the build-up of an unmanageable number of new applications during these consultations and to further reduce the 165,000-strong backlog of paren't and grandparen't applicants.

• The government will consult Canadians on how to redesign the paren'ts and grandparen'ts program to ensure that it is sustainable in the future.

According to The Globe and Mail: "About 6 per cent of all immigrants to Canada are paren'ts and grandparen'ts of existing immigrants. But family-unification applications have far outstripped available spaces, creating a backlog of 165,000 applicants and wait times of seven years, which will lengthen to 10 years by 2018 if there are no changes."

 Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney says: We ask those people to be patient, to use the new super visa that we're offering them so mom and dad can come and visit the grandkids in Canada for an extended period, allow us a bit of time to get the backlog down, speeding up the wait times, and open up the redesigned program in two years time."

More news articles about the new Canadian Super Visa for paren'ts and grandparen'ts:

• Government of Canada to Cut Backlog and Wait times for family reunification – Phase I of Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification, News Release, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, November 4, 2011.

• Super Visa Earns Rave Reviews, News Release, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, November. 28, 2011.

•  Immigration Minister Hits Pause on Family Reunification Applications, The Globe and Mail, November 4, 2011.

• Canada: A Nice Place to Visit But You Can't Appy to Live Here, Toronto Star, November 4, 2011.

• Kenney Tackles Paren'ts Immigration Backlog, CBC News, November 4, 2011.