This is the best time for extended family members, foreign nationals, or international students to visit Canada. It is because the Federal government has eased down its restrictions a bit. The aim of the Federal government behind this is to reunite families for compassionate as well as for educational purposes. The new rules will somehow help the extended family members of the permanent residents or citizens of Canada to come to the country once again. The extended family members include those people who are children, siblings, or in an exclusive relationship with the citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
Foreign nationals who have someone in Canada suffering from a life-threatening illness will also get a preference. But they will have to follow a particular process to get authorization from the immigration officials. From October 20 onwards even international students can travel to Canada if they are enrolled at a school that has been registered for the COVID-19 readiness plan.
Who Is Considered As As Extended Family Member?
The IRCC has released an elaborate guideline on who will be considered as an extended family member. The person should have dated a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least one year. He/she is a non-dependent child, a grandchild, half-sibling, step-sibling, or a sibling or a grandparent. The exemptions are also applicable to people who are an exclusive romantic partner or even related to the permanent resident or citizen of Canada
To get an entry in Canada first the extended family member should complete certain formalities. He must fill up the application for authorization and statutory declaration. Then this declaration is sent to the foreign relative for signing. After that, the same declaration is sent back to the extended family member who then has to sign a solemn declaration in front of a notary or a lawyer-any authorized official.
This declaration sheet is used as evidence of the relationship that the extended family member has with the relative in Canada when a request is made for authorization to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada. Apart from that, the extended family member should also have legal travel documents like visas. Once you have a solemn declaration, you can travel to Canada within six months. In the case of immediate family members, although written authorization is not needed, they do need to provide proof of their relationship with the resident in Canada.