What is Immigration Canada's policy due to the coronavirus?

What is Immigration Canada's policy due to the coronavirus?



If you are currently processing or planning to apply for a Canadian visa or permanent residence, you need to consider the impact of the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Quite a few people are worried that this issue will result in disadvantages such as complicated screening and entry procedures, delays, or cancellations. Today, we will look at how to deal with the corona virus by case based on what the Canadian Immigration Service has announced so far.




Immigration Canada issued special guidelines on February 28 regarding the visa process for Korea and Iran following China. According to this, if you are a citizen of Korea, China, or Iran, or are currently staying in Korea, China, or Iran and are subject to travel restrictions due to coronavirus, the Canadian Visa Office's services are limited as follows.

If you have been approved for permanent residency in Canada, but are unable to enter the country for landing

Landing papers usually specify the period of entry and landing. However, if you are unable to enter Canada within the specified period, you must report this fact to the Immigration Service by filling out and submitting the web form online. If you have completed your report in accordance with the procedures, there will be no special problem even if your designated due date has passed.




For Canadian Citizenship Applicants

If you apply for Canadian citizenship, you must attend the test and oath ceremony set by the Immigration Office, but if you are unable to attend due to the coronavirus, you must report to the Immigration Office within 30 days of the original designated date. This will give you an additional 30 days and an additional 45 days if you are asked to submit a medical opinion. However, even if there are circumstances due to the coronavirus, the conditions for the mandatory residence period in Canada (3 years (1,095 days) out of the last 5 years) must be met without exception.

If you have applied for a temporary visa (work, student, tourist) or permanent residence outside of Canada

If you are unable to submit additional data, physical examination, biometrics, etc. due to COVID-19, your application in progress will be given an additional 90-day grace period.




For Express entry program applicants

In principle, applications must be submitted within 60 days of receiving the invitation, and applications must be accepted without exception even if the documents are not ready due to the coronavirus. If there are some missing documents, you must submit a separate reason for this, and the already submitted application will be put on hold. Missing documents can be submitted later through the web form.

If you urgently need a temporary visa (work, student, tourism) for special reasons




Koreans can apply online. After the online application is completed, you can request an expedited procedure through the web form based on reasons that require an urgent request. However, it is worth noting that among the contents of the form, you must answer ‘No’ to the question confirming whether the application is being processed outside of Canada.




If a permanent resident without a valid PR card needs to enter Canada urgently

You must request the visa office to process your travel document expedited via the web form. As in the previous case, you must answer ‘No’ to the question on the web form to confirm whether the application is being processed outside of Canada, and you must select the Philippine-Manila visa office.

If you are a temporary visa holder (work, student, tourist) and cannot leave Canada before the visa expires

If you are currently staying in accordance with the nature of your visa, apply for an extension of the same visa before it expires. If the visa expiration date has already passed but it is within 90 days after the expiration date, you must apply for an extension along with the restoration of your status. If 90 days have already passed since the expiration of the visa, you must apply for a Temporary Resident Permit together with the application for extension, and a reasonable explanation must be made for the reasons for exceeding the 90-day period for recovery of status. If a holder of a student visa or work visa is staying in a different form from the previously issued visa, such as suspension of study or employment, he/she can apply for an extension with a visitor visa.

Lastly, if you are already in the process of processing a Canadian work visa in Korea or are considering it, let's take a look at what variables there will be. The first thing to be done for the employment visa procedure is for the employer to obtain LMIA approval through the Labor Office. After LMIA approval, the application for a work visa is received at the designated visa office. Currently, Korean nationals are proceeding at the Manila office in the Philippines. And visa-free countries, including Korea, can also apply for a work visa through the airport or border. In most cases, we receive a work visa right after the interview while entering Canada through the airport for quick processing. However, if you have difficulties entering the country due to the corona virus, you can observe the trend for up to 6 months after LMIA approval. If you go through the procedures at the Manila office and receive an approval letter, there are no restrictions on the entry period.

Not all work is affected by the corona virus, and the possibility that Koreans will be particularly disadvantaged due to the occurrence of a large number of patients is not yet high. Rather, it is worth noting that the Canadian Immigration Service is applying more flexible standards to applicants through special measures such as the above. However, as the coronavirus continues to expand globally with no signs of abating for the time being, many countries are strengthening measures such as entry restrictions, so it is necessary to keep an eye on what additional measures Canada will implement in the future.