Ukrainian family reunification program coming soon, residency still far away

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says those who don't qualify for family reunification can still apply for permanent residency through traditional immigration streams.

As Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine from the north and south of the country last year and rockets rained down across the county, hundreds of thousands of people made for the borders to escape.

Many had just hours of notice and left with a handful of belongings as they boarded crowded trains or joined massive convoys of citizens headed for safety.

Few likely expected to be away from their homes for more than a year, but some are now considering the prospect of putting down roots elsewhere.

A long-awaited program to grant permanent residency to Ukrainians with familial ties will be realized soon, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said Monday, but a similar program for other Ukrainians is unlikely to be available for another year or more.

Ottawa will need to co-ordinate with the Ukrainian government if it plans to offer Ukrainians a permanent place in this country, McGill Institute for the Study of Canada director Daniel Beland said.

Offering permanent residency could signal a lack of optimism about Ukraine’s ability to beat the Russian military out of its sovereign borders.

“I think this is something that certainly should involve a discussion with Ukrainian government,” Beland said. “At the same time, we don’t know how long this conflict will be. It’s unlikely to end any time soon.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken many times about the importance of Ukrainians returning home after the war to help rebuild the economy.