Immigration sponsorship: the magic number for families

In Nov. 2011, Vivilyn Lewis, 49, applied to sponsor her mother to come to Canada to live with her, but her application was sent back after three months because the federal government was no longer accepting parent and grandparent sponsorship applications.

So when Lewis heard the government was reopening the parent and grandparent sponsorship program at the beginning of 2014, she sat up late that night to wait for the applications to be posted online. The Conservative government at the time, however, had also announced they would accept only 5,000 applications during the year to further reduce the backlog.

By Feb. 2, Lewis had all the documents and was ready to submit her application. But, when she went online, she saw that they had closed the program because the cap on the number of applications had already been reached.

“It’s still a drop in the bucket,” says Lewis. “I appreciate the increase, at least it’s double that.”

— Vivilyn Lewis

Lewis is from Jamaica, but she has been living in Canada for more than a decade. She now lives in Burlington, Ont., and works as the vice-principal at Vista Heights Public School.

She says the whole process has been really frustrating, “especially when you’re so close” and you’ve gone through all the paperwork.

The cap and the demand

Under the new Liberal government, the cap on the number of applications Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will accept annually doubled to 10,000, effective this year. Theodora Jean from CIC said in an email interview that “the recent increase to the cap will allow more families to sponsor their parents and grandparents.”

“It’s still a drop in the bucket,” says Lewis. “I appreciate the increase, at least it’s double that.”

While more applications will be accepted, University of Ottawa professor Jamie Liew says it doesn’t alleviate the great demand.

“There are many families, you know, who are suffering as a result of this.”

— Vivilyn Lewis

There is such a backlog for the parent and grandparent sponsorship program, and CIC is currently processing only applications received on or before 2011.

“I’m not even sure I’m going to be successful again, but it’s worth another try,” Lewis says. “That is my greatest fear, that by the time she’s able to come, she’s going to be turned back or away because either she’s now too old and she’s not going to be able to make some kind of contribution to my household or to the Canadian society in itself.”

The government budgeted $25 million in 2016-17 to speed up processing times for family sponsorship applications, and are anticipating 20,000 admissions under the parent and grandparent program.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada

Howard Duncan, the executive head of Metropolis, an international network of researchers focusing on migration, says it doesn’t matter how fast you process applications. You will end up with a backlog because you always get more applications and demand than number of visas.

The magic number and its rationale

Duncan says there has never been a full rationale for how the government came up with the cap number.

“There’s no articulate reason, which makes it hard when you’re justifying it to people,” says Ronalee Carey, a Canadian immigration lawyer.

“It’s just not being reassured that yes, while I have all the requirements that it is going to happen. That’s just the frustrating part.”

— Vivilyn Lewis

There are two things, says Duncan, which can be used to explain the cap number: the budget and what issues get priority from the government in deciding who to accept.

Administrative capacity and the number of applications the government can afford to process will be affected depending on the budget.

Duncan also says the Liberals shifted their emphasis a little bit away from bringing in economic immigrants towards humanitarian and social justice causes because it reflects the prime minister’s brand. The Conservatives, however, were more interested in the economy, and this influenced the cap number they imposed on the number of parent and grandparent sponsorship applications they would accept annually.

“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get through this time around.”

— Vivilyn Lewis

Lewis has revisited the application forms and is in the process of applying to sponsor her mother again next year, when the application period opens in January, “hoping that this will be the last time and that everything will go through and that she will be able to join us.”

She would like to take better care of her mother, who is now 72, and give her a better life in Canada. Her mother occasionally visits in the summer on a visitor’s visa, but she has to return to Jamaica before six months.

“I do understand the process, I understand that they want to make sure that whoever comes here, that whoever sponsored them, is able to financially take care of them, so that part of it I’m fine with,” Lewis says. “It’s just not being reassured that yes, while I have all the requirements that it is going to happen. That’s just the frustrating part.”

“There are many families, you know, who are suffering as a result of this, and I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to get through this time around.”

[Front page/ header photo courtesy of Nicholas Lewis]