Canada announces new PR immigration pathway for families of air disaster victims

Canada Immigration Minister - Marco Mendicino announced a new public policy that will allow families of air disaster victims to apply for Canadian permanent residence.

Family members of those whose lives were lost in Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 will be able to apply for permanent residence. This new policy will be in effect by May 11, 2022.

For now, the new measure is only available to family members currently living in Canada. According to a press release, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is working on introducing further measures that will help certain family members of victims who are outside of Canada to apply for permanent residence. More announcements will be made once the new measures are in place. 

All standard fees, biometrics, and eligibility requirements apply to the new policy. However, applicants will be still eligible even after losing their status in Canada.

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IRCC is also expanding the initial public policy of temporary residence for families of victims of the January 2020 fall of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 able to come to Canada. Those who have traveled can extend their temporary resident status as their application for the permanent resident is under process.

Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 crashed on March 10, 2019, near Bishoftu, Ethiopia, killing a total of 157 people, that includes 18 Canadian and others who have ties to Canada. Then, on January 8, 2020, a jet plane carrying 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents was shot down by a surface-to-air missile in Tehran, Iran. Of the 176 people who died in the theft, 138 had ties to Canada.

"All Canadians mourn the loss of those who died in the tragedies involving Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752," Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said in the statement. “At the heart of these disasters are grieving families, who need broad support from the Government of Canada. This new path to permanent residence is one of the ways we are helping the families of Canadian victims cope, in the hope that they can build their lives in Canada.”