Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced today new and temporary immigration measures for those stranded in the Gaza Strip who are extended family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada.

“We know that many Canadians are concerned about the safety of their loved ones in the Gaza Strip, and for this reason, we are announcing temporary immigration measures,” Minister Miller said at a press conference in Ottawa.

Accordingly, Canada will grant temporary residence visas to these relatives in the Gaza Strip “so they can come to Canada and reunite with their family members living here,” Miller explained.

The extended family members include “the spouse of the Canadian citizen or permanent resident in Canada or their common-law partner, their children, grandchildren, siblings, parents, grandparents, in addition to their immediate family members.”

The temporary visa will be valid for three years from the date of issuance.

“Of course, all persons applying to benefit from the program must meet eligibility and admissibility criteria before being allowed to come to Canada,” added the Federal Minister of Immigration.

However, Miller acknowledged that “it is extremely difficult to leave the Gaza Strip” under current circumstances, which means that “not everyone” will be able to benefit from these new measures.

“We will do everything we can to help, but we cannot guarantee safe passage” out of the Gaza Strip, Miller added.

“Canada does not determine who, when, or how many people will be able to cross” through the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt, Miller said.

The Rafah crossing is the only one linking the Gaza Strip to the outside world.

The Canadian Minister of Immigration confirmed that the Liberal government in Ottawa will grant fee-exempt study permits and open work permits to immediate family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents in Canada provided they arrive in Canada after October 7, 2023.

It should be noted that the current war between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, began on the mentioned date with an attack launched by the Palestinian Islamist movement on southern Israel, resulting in the killing of about 1,140 people, most of them civilians. The attackers abducted about 250 other people, taking them as hostages into the Gaza Strip.

In response to this attack, Israel pledged to “eliminate” Hamas, besieged the Gaza Strip completely, heavily bombarded it with unprecedented intensity, and launched a ground military operation there on October 27, resulting until yesterday in the death of about 20,000 people, mostly women, children, and persons under 18, according to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas government.

Since the beginning of the current war, Canada has evacuated about 600 Canadian citizens and permanent residents and their spouses and children from the besieged Palestinian sector.