Fear No More Grandparents, Super Visa To The Rescue!

Did you know that the time it takes for a Family Class sponsorship application of parents and grandparents of Canadians to get processed is now seven years? That time will also continue to grow if actions aren’t taken (Hyslop, 2011). Imagine all the things that could happen to an elderly person waiting to see their loved ones in Canada over seven years. That’s why on December 1st Canada will be introducing the “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa”.

On November 4, 2011 the Citizenship and Immigration Department of Canada publicly announced their new action plan called the “Parent and Grandparent Super Visa” as a part of their Faster Family Reunification program. The perk of this new Visa? Waiting times will now be reduced to eight weeks instead of seven plus years and it is valid for up to ten years (must remain in Canada for only two years at a time) (Hyslop, 2011). 

Now, you may be wondering how it’s a perk for a parent or grandparent to live in Canada for only two years at a time. It’s actually preferred by some elderly to come to Canada on visitor status rather than permanent because they want to spend time with their loved ones on certain occasions like weddings or funerals but they don’t want to feel like a financial burden on their loved ones by living with them permanently. It’s no secret that family caregivers are subject to physical and emotional stress when giving care to a dependent elderly loved one. With balancing children, and a full-time job the addition of another person to take care of can harm the caregivers themselves. It is also important to note that immigrant family caregivers may be affected more adversely than that of non-immigrant caregivers (Suwal, 2010, p. 110). This is because immigrants also face many more challenges than a non-immigrant would, such as language barriers and less social support (Suwal, 2010, p. 110). It is also important to look at this matter from a seniors perspective. Along with not wanting to be a burden to their family by immigrating to Canada so late in their lives they might also have concerns about fully integrating into a new society. For example, learning a new language and taking ESL courses may be difficult if they’re taking care of grandchildren during the day (Reyes & Wityk, 2005, p. 39). 

Senior citizens aren’t naive enough to believe that they won’t fall victim to several forms of oppression by immigrating to Canada so late in their lives. If you were to analyze Mullaly’s 5 forms oppression carefully enough you can conclude that an elderly immigrant would fall into 4 out of 5 of the categories. An elderly immigrant can be marginalized, become powerless, stereotyped as useless to society, and become victims of violence in the form of elderly abuse (Mullaly, 2007, p. 264 - 269).    

So with this new Visa these elderly are free to travel back and forth between Canada and their home land without worrying about maintaining their permanent resident status here or being a financial burden and enjoying their (probably preferred) lifestyle back home. 

There are however some downfalls to this new action plan. First, anyone seeking to apply for this visa that has not applied before November 5, 2011 will have to wait two years to apply for the sponsorship of their parent/grandparent. This two year pause is being used to clear up the current 165, 000 application backlog (News Release CIC, 2011). Second, any parent or grandparent granted this Visa will have to acquire private health care insurance while in Canada which can be a little costly, but a small price to pay in some cases where families have been waiting countless years to reunite (Grewal, 2011). 

I think that this action plan is a good start for the Government’s Family Reunification process. It’s measures like these that will add up to help improve the Immigration system in Canada as a whole.

-Yodit D.

References: 

Citizenship and Immigration Canada. (2011, November 4). News Release - Government of Canada to cut backlog and times for family reunification - Phase 1 of Action Plan for Faster Family Reunification. Retrieved from 

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2011/2011-11-04.asp

Grewal, M. (2011, November 22). Super Visas will make immigrants’ lives Easier. The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved from

http://www.vancouversun.com/Super+visas+will+make+immigrants+lives+easier/5751872/story.html

Hyslop, L. (2011, November 8). Canada announces two-year pause for Parent and Grandparent Visas. The Telegraph. Retrieved from

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/expat/expatnews/8876846/Canada-announces-two-year-pause-for-parent-and-grandparent-visas.html

Mullaly, B. (2007). The New Structural Social Work (3rd ed.). Don Mills, Ontario: Oxford University Press Canada. 

Reyes, M. & Wityk, T. (2005). Seniors and Immigration: Services and Issues. Canadian Issues, 38-40.

Suwal, J. (2010). Health Consequences to Immigrant Family Caregivers in Canada. Canadian Studies in Population, 37,107-124