According to the Ming Pao report from Canada, the family reunification immigration program, which has been frozen for two years, will reopen on January 2 next year. Federal Immigration Minister Chris Alexander announced that applicants can download the form from the immigration department's website as early as December 31 of this year. With the implementation of all previously announced tightening conditions, sponsors will face an unprecedented high threshold, causing many applicants to hesitate.
In 2014, the Canadian government will accept up to 5,000 new applications in this category, with a target of 20,000 people. The number of applications pending from 2012 to 2013 has already been halved, and the waiting time has been reduced to one-fifth of the original. He also reiterated the successful implementation of the "super visa," encouraging more applicants to consider this "more flexible and popular" way to reunite with their parents or grandparents.
Regarding the new requirement for sponsors to increase their income by 30%, Alexander believes this is a "moderate and reasonable" change aimed at aligning with the current living standards in Canada and the economic needs of parents or grandparents.
He acknowledged that some parents or grandparents may have assets and will bring their own wealth when immigrating to Canada, but he believes that the vast majority still need local relatives to provide financial support.
"Our government has done a lot of work to reduce the poverty level among seniors, making Canada one of the countries with the lowest senior poverty rates in the world," he continued: "Therefore, we cannot risk allowing these parents and grandparents to live in poverty, and raising the requirements for applicants is also to ensure their needs and the interests of domestic taxpayers."
Immigration experts believe that the introduction of the new regulations has significantly increased the difficulty for local Chinese applicants in this category. Typically, those who can meet this standard had already applied before the program was frozen in 2011. Now, even if immigrants with a student background can just meet this income standard, it is still very difficult to meet the three-year income guarantee standard.