Immigration minister Sean Fraser has announced that the Government of Canada will be extending the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) for Ukrainians overseas until July 15, 2023.  

Current CUAET holders will now have until March 31,2024 to travel to Canada and those who are already in Canada have until the same date to extend or adjust their temporary status, with no fees. 

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Ukrainians and their family members will still have access to settlement services, including the one-time tax-free financial support and access to emergency accommodation for up two weeks as needed after arrival in Canada.

Immigration measures for Ukrainians – Les mesures d’immigration visant les Ukrainiens

The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, will make an announcement regarding updates to immigration measures for Ukrainians in response to Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable invasion of Ukraine.

The Canada Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada implemented the Canada Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET). Under CUAET, Ukrainians and their immediate family members of any nationality may stay in Canada as temporary residents for up to three years. The CUAET measures also give Ukrainians who are already in Canada the option to extend their visitor status, work permit or study permit.

As of March 16 this year, 943,730 Ukrainians have applied for CUAET and 616,429 have been approved. However, only 190,970 have arrived in Canada. CUAET is primarily a visitor visa, but Ukrainians may also simultaneously apply for an open work permit at no cost.  An open work permit allows participants to work for any employer in Canada.

As an additional support measure, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has priority processing for all CUAET applications. Also, CUAET participants are not required to pay fees when submitting their biometrics.

Finally, the federal government offers CUAET participants a one-time non-taxable benefit of $3,000 each per adult and an additional $1,500 for each child under 17. Ukrainian newcomers do not receive any additional settlement funding beyond the benefit, which is set to expire as of June 24.

Other support measures for Ukrainians

Support measures exist on a provincial level as well For example, Manitoba regularly invites candidates from Ukraine to apply for provincial nomination, which can be a benefit for Ukrainians who are interested in becoming permanent residents through an Express Entry program. Saskatchewan also has a similar provincial immigration stream. 

Ontario has waived health fees for Ukrainian newcomers as well as increased access to emergency housing through settlement service agencies and Ukrainian community organizations. This can include host homes and other temporary settings to fill in until long-term housing can be arranged.

There are also multiple Canadian charitable organizations working to help Ukrainians come to Canada and settle successfully. For example, 4Ukraine.ca, reports that they have flown over 500 people to Canada, helped create over 1,000 resumes and have raised over $275,000 in aid.

The federal government encourages Canadian employers to hire Ukrainians  in Canada. Employers using jobbank.ca can indicate that they would like to hire a Ukrainian newcomer by following a few steps:

• Register as an employer on Job Bank
• Create a new job posting and save it as a draft.
• Contact Job Bank and include the reference number of the job posting to let them know that you want to recruit Ukrainian nationals.

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