On July 18, 2011,the Montreal Gazette reported that up to 550 Afghans are expected to take up Canada's offer of resettlement.. According to the report, 56 Afghans have already entered Canada and another 33 are expected to arrive during the summer. It is also anticipated that 130 more Afghans will arrive in the fall, with the remainder immigrating during 2012.
This group of people is made up of Afghans who have worked as interpreters for the Canadian military or officials of the Canadian government in Kandahar and their families. Jason Kenney, the Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, was quoted as saying, "These are Afghans who face extraordinary personal risk as a result of their work in support of Canada's mission in Kandahar. Their lives and those of their families may be threatened by insurgents and some have suffered serious injury and can no longer work."
Special Immigration Measures for Certain Afghan Nationals
Although the program, called "Special immigration measures for certain Afghan nationals" was first announced in September 2009, only 56 Afghans have arrived in Canada so far. The bulk of the arrivals under these special measures is expected to increase now that Canada's five year mission in Kandahar has come to an end.
To qualify for these special measures, the applicant must be a citizen of Afghanistan and be physically present in that country at the time the application is made. If the person has fled or is otherwise in another country, they must go through normal immigration channels if they wish to come to Canada.
In order to be eligible for the program, the person must be subject to an extraordinary risk as a result of their work for Canada or else have suffered a "non-accidental" or "non-natural" injury that resulted in either a risk to their life or an inability to work.
Surviving spouses and common law partners of people who had worked for Canada as interpreters who have suffered a non-accidental or non-natural death while employed are also eligible to make an application.
Only those Afghan nationals who worked for the Canadian military or Canadian officials in Kandahar are eligible to apply under these measures. Those Afghans who worked for the military or officials outside of Kandahar are ineligible. Similarly those Afghans who have worked in Kandahar for Canadian companies or Canadian media outlets cannot apply under these special measures.
Those who have worked for the military or Canadian officials must have been employed or on contract for at least 12 months in total, beginning from October 9, 2007.
Spouses and dependent children of successful applicants can be included in the application.
Other Countries Have Similar Programs
According to the Montreal Gazette, while this is the first program of its kind in Canada, other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have similar measures to allow those foreign nationals who have risked their lives assisting those respective countries in Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. has an almost identical program except for the fact that only 50 applicants can arrive in the United States in any one year.
Although these programs seem to be humanitarian gestures made by grateful governments, the requirements to become eligible to come to Canada or the United States are narrowly defined.
Arthur Weinreb - Weinreb is an author, associate editor and columnist with Canada Free Press and the Canadian Affairs Feature Writer for Suite 101.
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