The gap in Canada's immigration policy
The CUEAT Ukrainians found themselves in a 'grey area' of the law.
Last year, Canada allowed Ukrainians and their families to enter the country under the CUAET program (Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel). A visa issued under this program gives the right to live, study and work in Canada for up to three years. More than 600,000 Ukrainian citizens have already been approved for an emergency visa; 184,908 of them arrived in Canada.
At the same time, emergency visa holders are not entitled to the same support measures as people with official refugee status, as mentioned by Ihor Michalchyshyn, executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC). CUAET participants cannot qualify for government financial aid and student loans and have to sponsor their stay in Canada by themselves.
The CUAET program expires on March 31, 2023. Michalchyshyn hopes that the government will extend the program.
Katie Crocker, the CEO of Affiliation of Multicultural Societies and Service Agencies of British Columbia, suggests that the federal government makes changes to the program. First, she suggests collecting information about program participants before they arrive in the country, for instance their language proficiency, number of family members, qualifications, arrival time, and so on. Second, she suggests limiting the number of applications that can be approved (the government did not specifically put a limit on applications to speed up the entry process).
According to a survey, 84% of Ukrainians who came under the CUAET program want to stay in Canada and get permanent residency when their visa expires. The government has not yet decided what support will be available to Ukrainians who are denied permanent residency.
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