Canada opens humanitarian pathway for family members fleeing Sudan conflict

Canada will allow people in Sudan who have relatives in Canada to reunite with their families through a new humanitarian pathway as the violent conflict in the African nation continues, Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced Thursday.

Miller said in a statement that children, grandchildren, parents, grandparents and siblings of Canadian citizens or permanent residents will be eligible for the new program. That Canadian family connection must be able to financially support their relative arriving from Sudan “and help them build their new life in Canada,” the statement said.

“This humanitarian pathway will help reunite loved ones and save lives,” Miller said.

The pathway will open on Feb. 27, 2024, to allow time for applicants to get the necessary documents and financing in place.

A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told Global News the Canadian family member, or “anchor,” of applicants must attest to their ability to support their relative or relatives for one year. That includes financial support for housing, food and clothing, as well as “providing orientation to life in Canada” and assisting with enrolling in school, language training, and provincial and national programs and benefits.

Applicants must also complete the typical security and biometric screening used for visa applicants, such as fingerprinting.

“Given the continued volatility in the region, and the work that will be required to process applications through the new program, we cannot predict when the first arrivals will take place,” the IRCC spokesperson said in an email.

Sudan has been mired in a bloody conflict since mid-April, when tensions between the head of the military and a rival paramilitary force erupted and sparked intense firefights, mostly in the capital of Khartoum.

The conflict has killed up to 9,000 people as of October, according to the United Nations. However, activists and doctors’ groups say the real toll is far higher.

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The UN says 5.5 million people inside the country have been displaced since the fighting began — including refugees from other countries that had been living in Sudan — and about half the population of 49 million people is in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.

The past month has seen the fighting reach the province of Jazeera, where the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says about 500,000 people fled for safety at the start of the conflict.

Jazeera was home to about six million Sudanese before the conflict and is known as Sudan’s breadbasket due to its agricultural production. The World Food Program announced Wednesday that it has temporarily halted food assistance in some parts of Jazeera, in what it described a “major setback” to humanitarian efforts in the province.

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The U.N. International Organization for Migration said that between 250,000 and 300,000 people have now fled the province — many reportedly by foot — for other safe havens in Sudan.

Canada evacuated more than 400 Canadians and permanent residents from Sudan in the early weeks of the conflict this spring, and has offered other temporary immigration measures for Sudanese nationals already in Canada or who are seeking to flee the violence.

Those include allowing Sudanese nationals to apply to extend their stays in Canada free of charge, prioritizing Sudanese temporary and permanent residency applications, and waiving some application, passport and travel document fees.

The Canadian government has allocated over $165 million in humanitarian aid in response to the conflict.

— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl and the Associated Press