Canada Reforms Family Visa Policy

No more parents and grandparents for a while.

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney has announced changes to Canada's family reunification policy in including a temporary freeze on citizenship applications for family members with children and grandchildren already in the country. Kenney says the application pause is needed to resolve a 180,000 person backlog of applicants who have requested to reunite their families. The application process is expected to be restored and redesigned in two years. Meanwhile, the immigration department will offer a “super visa” for family members who want to visit for up to two years at a time. Earlier this week, Kenney announced that PhD candidates would be eligible to gain citizenship as skilled workers.