In a bid to make the process fairer, the Canadian government will change how it handles applications from people who want to sponsor parents and grand parents to come to Canada. Yesterday, it announced that the these visa applications will no longer be processed on a first-come, first-serve basis, but will be chosen by lottery.
The Canadian Press reported that the old system had people hire couriers for as much as $400 to ensure their applications arrived first at the immigration office in Mississauga, a suburb of Toronto. Others camped out for hours to deliver their paperwork.
Spaces for 10,000
Beginning in January, people who want to sponsor a family member will have 30 days to go online and fill in a form. Of those, immigration officials will randomly pick 10,000 names and ask them to submit a more detailed application.
This family reunification program usually gets thousands more applications than it can accommodate. Last year there were 14,000 requests for 10,000 spaces. The intake will again be 10,000 in 2017.
With files from The Canadian Press.
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