Special measures for extended family members in Gaza Simplified!

Disclaimer: the below content should not be taken as legal advice. It is intended to clarify the number of applicants that Canada will accept under the Special Measures for extended family members in Gaza, the required documents and the application process.

Recently Canada’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) released more details about the eligibility criteria and the application process under the Special Measures for extended family members in Gaza. While the eligibility criteria for those who can apply and their family members in Canada who can help are clear, many applicants and their family members seem to be confused about the number of applicants that Canada will accept, the required documents and the application process. Below we will try to clarify those confusions and simplify everything about these special measures:

I- The number of applications that Canada will accept:

Initially the government announced that there will be a Cap of 1000 people who will benefit from these special measures. However, after harsh criticism from different organizations and individuals about the huge difference between these special measures and those that were created to support people fleeing the war between Ukraine and Russia which helped around 300000 people from Ukraine settle in Canada, the minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada; Marc Miller mentioned in an interview with CTV news Chanel reporter that the 1000 cap on applications “is not set in stone”. This implies that IRCC plans to take more than 1000 applications.

II- The required documents and application fees:

A- Required documents: Please note that all documents have to be in English or French. If they are in another language they should be accompanied by an acceptable English or French translation.

a. From family member in Canada or what IRCC refers to as “Anchor”

1. Statutory declaration form (IMM 5992) completed and signed Infront of a commissioner, notary public or lawyer.

2. Proof of Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Residency status.

3. Proof of address in Canada or if the anchor is not currently living in Canada, they must provide a letter with details on how and they intend to live in Canada.

b. From Applicant(s)

1. Consent to disclose personal information form (IMM 0707) for each applicant 18 years of age or older; completed and signed.by the applicant or their representative if the applicant is unable to access the IRCC portal or complete and sign the above form themselves and authorize someone to be their representative either by email, text or verbally as explained on this IRCC’s page.

2. Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) completed and signed if they plan to authorise a family member in Canada (anchor or another family member), an immigration Consultant or Lawyer to apply on their behalf.

3. Additional background information form IMM 0706) (PDF, 1.77 MB) for each applicant between the ages of 14 and 79.

4. A copy of the applicant’s passport or travel document issued by the Palestinian Authority, showing residence in Gaza. This document is required if the applicant is a person described in group 1, as mentioned on this government website.

5. A copy of the applicant’s passport (or a letter of explanation, if it is not possible to get a copy of the applicant’s passport) for dependents of main applicant under group 1 or applicants under group 2 and their dependents as mentioned on this government website.

6. Proof of the applicant's relationship to the anchor or to the family member described in group 1 as mentioned on this government website. Examples of accepted documents are birth certificate, marriage certificate.

B- Application fees: fees can be paid by applicant, their family member in Canada Anchor) or someone else who has a valid method of payment. The application fees are as follows:

a. TRV application processing fee:

• CAN$100 per person, or

• CAN$500 per family unit of 5 or more people

b. Biometrics fees

• · CAN$85 per person, or

• · CAN$170 per family unit of 2 or more people applying at the same time

III- The Application Process:

There are basically three steps or what the government referred to as stages:

I- Stage 1: Preparing the necessary documents and information

On this stage:

• The family member in Canada(anchor) completes and signs the Statutory declaration form (IMM 5992) . The form must be signed in the presence of an authorized official (for example, a lawyer, commissioner of oath, justice of the peace). The anchor should then share it with the applicant or their authorized representative.

• The applicant in Gaza (person under group 1), and their dependents or extended family members (person under group 2) complete and sign:

• Consent to disclose personal information form (IMM 0707) completed and signed by the applicant or their representative if applicant is unable to access the IRCC portal and complete and sign the above form themselves and authorize someone to be their representative either by email, text or verbally. Find more details on this government web page.

• Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) if they plan to authorize a family member in Canada (anchor or another family member) or an immigration Consultant or Lawyer to apply on their behalf.

II- Stage 2: Completing and submitting a crisis webform.

The applicant(s) submits through this crisis webform the statutory declaration form received from the anchor with personal information about the anchor and applicants (names, date of birth, relationship to anchor/main applicant) and information about their situation/circumstances. The anchor, other family member, an immigration consultant or lawyer can submit the form on behalf of applicant(s) if he/she receives a completed and signed Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) from them.

III- Stage 3: Applying for an Entry Visa

The applicant(s) receive(s) a code and submits an official Temporary Resident Visa application (TRV) through the IRCC portal or they can appoint the anchor, other family member, an immigration consultant or lawyer as their representative by completing and signing the Use of a Representative form (IMM 5476) .

A small note about the forms: to avoid problems downloading and opening the forms right-click on the form (no double clicking) and depending on whether you are using a Mac or PC computer choose “save document/file as”, “save link file as” or “save/download file as” then go to where you downloaded the form right-click on it (no double clicking) then open with Adobe Reader. If you don’t have an adobe reader program, you can download for free from here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/?promoid=TTGWL47M