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Canadian citizens often take family for granted. Yet, refugees and migrant workers are often separated from children and spouses for months or years, as they face obstacles and delays to family reunification.
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KAIROS has decided to take action against Canada’s unjust immigration policies. In 2006, KAIROS collaborated with the Canadian Council for Refugees on a submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, highlighting rights violations experienced by refugees and migrants in Canada. The submission highlighted violations against the right to protection of the family unit and the right to non-discrimination. Three key policy recommendations flow from this document. Canada should:
| 1. | Correct the discrimination in the point system for independent immigrant in order to recognize the true value of work in the agricultural and care-giving fields. |
| 2. | Allow these workers to access permanent resident status from the outset, and bring family members with them when they immigrate to Canada. |
| 3. | Sign the United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights and Welfare of All Migrant Workers and their Families. |
Background
Canada’s immigration points system privileges people who have higher education, “professional” skills and money. This group of immigrants enters Canada with full and permanent status and can bring their immediate family with them. Many refugees and migrant workers do not have this opportunity.
For refugees separated from family members in their flight from danger, there may be over a year of waiting to be reunited with loved ones. Delays are caused by shortage of visa office resources to process applications, expensive and unnecessary requests for DNA tests to prove their biological relationships, and expiration of security and/or medical clearances, which then have to be redone. In the meantime refugees fear for the safety and well-being of their loved ones living in unstable circumstances.
For those working in low-paid jobs under temporary work visas, there is no path to family reunification. Migrant workers who enter Canada through the Seasonal Agricultural Program spend up to eight months a year away from their families. Since many of these workers return to work in Canada year after year, they may spend up to half of their lives away from their families.
Live-in caregivers, women who come to Canada to take care of Canadian children, are forced to leave their own children behind in their home countries. Live-in caregivers are able to apply for permanent residence and be eligible for family reunification only after completing 24 months of live-in employment within three years. There is no guarantee that their application will be successful. If the application is successful, they still may wait five to seven years before their families arrive in Canada.
Delays and obstacles to family reunification stand in the way of successful adaptation to Canada. After years apart, many families experience severe stress as they seek to re-establish family ties in a strange environment. Furthermore, refugees and live-in caregivers have to pay high fees in order to include family members in their application for permanent residency. Many refugees, in order to pay these fees, acquire large debts, which make it harder for them to establish themselves in Canada.
CCR
Manifesto on Family Reunification 
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KAIROS has endorsed this advocacy document outlining key principles
for just policies regarding family reunification.
Submission
to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
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KAIROS contributed to this submission analysis and recommendations
for improving migrant access to family reunification.
KAIROS
brief on Family Reunification
KAIROS presented this brief to the Standing Committee on Citizenship
and Immigration in spring of 2005
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