It’s time to end the unintended and destructive consequences of the policy of the former Conservative government, said Sukh Dhaliwal, Member of Parliament for Surrey-Newton. “Making spouses wait for years to reunite with their partner or achieve legal status within Canada has been unacceptable since the first day the former policy was introduced. Current wait times for spousal applicants had been ranging from an average of 18 months for overseas applications to upwards of two years for spouses already in Canada. But from immediate effect, processing times will be reduced even further with most spousal applications now being processed in 12 months.

SURREY  – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government is keeping its promise of reducing wait times for spousal reunification by making it faster and easier for Canadians and permanent residents to reunite with their spouses.

This is long overdue, and puts an end to unfair targeting of thousands of Canadian families trying to build a future in Canada, according to Member of Parliament for Surrey-Newton Sukh Dhaliwal.

“Making spouses wait for years to reunite with their partner or achieve legal status within Canada has been unacceptable since the first day the former policy was introduced,” says Dhaliwal.  “Today's announcement is the first of many steps to ease waiting times across the entire immigration system.”

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum announced this week that the length of time it takes for Canadian citizens to sponsor a spouse or partner for permanent residency status is being dramatically shortened. 

The waiting period will now be 12 months or under.  Current waiting times can take up to 26 months for a spouse already in Canada, and averages 18 months for spouses still abroad. 

A cash injection of $25 million, an overhaul of the application process and increasing the number of allocations for spousal sponsorship are the specific measures that will immediately make an impact on the current backload.

This means that anyone with an application currently in process will receive a decision by December, 2017 at the very latest.  It is expected that 80 per cent of applications will be resolved far sooner.

In spite of claims that this move will once again increase fraudulent marriages, there are a number of measures that remain in place to continue scrutiny, contends Dhaliwal.

“From the exclusion of “proxy” marriages executed over the telephone or Internet, to the prohibition on multiple spousal sponsorships over five years, we have several measures in place to prevent scams from infiltrating the system.”

In 2017, about 64,000 spouses and dependents are expected to be admitted to Canada.

At the direction of the John McCallum, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, earlier this year Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) began a concerted effort to reduce processing times. From the start of 2016 to the fall, processing times were reduced by 15 percent for in-Canada applications and just over 10 percent for applications outside Canada.

“We have listened to Canadians and are delivering results.  Bringing families together makes for a stronger Canada. Canadians who marry someone from abroad shouldn’t have to wait for years to have them immigrate or be left with uncertainty in terms of their ability to stay. What we’re announcing today is a more efficient, more considerate process to reunite families,” said McCallum.

Current wait times for spousal applicants had been ranging from an average of 18 months for overseas applications to upwards of two years for spouses already in Canada.

But from immediate effect, processing times will be reduced even further with most spousal applications now being processed in 12 months.

“I have always felt it was wrong for the heavy hand of the Canadian state to keep people apart for two years,” McCallum said.

Complex cases may still require more time.

Applicants who already filed an application will not have to wait an additional 12 months to have them finalized. IRCC will continue to process applications in the order they have been received. Most families who have been waiting should have a decision on their sponsorship application no later than the end of December 2017.

These new changes are expected to benefit more than 64 000 applicants by the end of 2017, and are the latest measures to bring families together.

Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal  said this is long overdue, and puts an end to unfair targeting of thousands of Canadian families trying to build a future in Canada.

“Making spouses wait for years to reunite with their partner or achieve legal status within Canada has been unacceptable since the first day the former policy was introduced,” says Dhaliwal.  “Today’s announcement is the first of many steps to ease waiting times across the entire immigration system.”

The last federal budget set aside $25 million to help get family sponsorship wait times down and that money, along with a new application process and making more room in the immigration program for spousal sponsorship, are behind the change, McCallum said.

In 2015, the target was to admit about 48,000 people but there were over 70,000 applications, the Immigration Department said. In 2016, the target for admission is 60,000 and for next year, it will be 64,000. There is a current backlog of about 80,000 applications in the system, McCallum said.

The changes won’t just be good for those being admitted, McCallum said.

“People are more productive citizens when they are with their families, when they are at ease in their home life, so I think it is good for the country as a whole,” he said.

None of the mandatory security or medical screenings are being changed in any way, it is just that the system is being made more efficient, he said.