Immigration Reductions Put Ukrainians, Hong Kongers in Limbo for Permanent Status
When Russian bombs and missiles started raining down on Kyiv, all Oleh Chernenko and his wife could think of was getting their four children to somewhere safe. Now, three years later, their kids are still their priority.
After making an escape out of Ukraine to the Czech Republic in a minivan with a big sign reading “CHILDREN” on the windshield, the family eventually flew to Toronto in November 2022 under Ottawa’s emergency travel program for Ukrainians fleeing the war.
What was supposed to be a temporary stay has turned into indefinite displacement in Canada, with no end in sight to the conflict and little prospects of acquiring permanent residence here.
Ukrainians are among a number of groups that Ottawa has sheltered in recent years as temporary residents through various humanitarian public policies. There are also the Afghans fleeing the Taliban, Hong Kongers seeking refuge from Beijing and Sudanese affected by their two-year-old civil war.
How to manage these temporary guests who Canada has declared a moral obligation to help is a challenge for Ottawa. Its immigration levels plan, to be unveiled Tuesday, is expected to continue its path to reduce new permanent resident intakes and clamp down on the number of temporary residents.
“The war is not ending and people cannot be back,” said Chernenko, 56, whose family is still haunted by the sounds they heard of explosions, missiles and warplanes flying overhead.
“I’m an old guy and can live everywhere, but for the sake of our children’s future, education, well-being and dreams, we must remain in a place where peace and hope are real and tangible.”
About 305,000 Ukrainians have been admitted under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel program. (There’s also a special program to grant permanent residence to those with family ties here.) Meanwhile, more than 32,000 Hong Kongers have come to study and work via a temporary program launched in 2021 that provides permanent residence pathways. The two are the largest groups of temporary residents for humanitarian purposes.
These temporary policies were uncapped, but Ottawa only allots a limited number of permanent resident spots for each program annually, meaning many will have to wait years for permanent status if they qualify at all, or live in perpetual limbo.
“The Hong Kong pathway was established as a lifeboat for those seeking freedom, and Canada must ensure this lifeboat reaches shore,” Aileen Calverley, a co-founder and chair of Hong Kong Watch, told a parliamentary committee recently. Her group advocates for human rights and freedoms in the former British colony.
“They’ve spent four years here already. They work and pay taxes. They study and pay tuition fees. Then they apply (for permanent residence), and if they start now, we need to wait for 10 years. So this is really a big problem.”
These time-limited policies, offering work and study permits, have contributed to Canada’s temporary resident population rising from 1.4 million in 2022 to just over three million today, though the majority of the population consists of international students, foreign workers and asylum seekers.
In response to public outcry over high immigration amid the housing crisis and economic slowdown, Ottawa reduced the annual intake of permanent residents by 21 per cent to 395,000 this year, with targets of 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
Those seeking permanent residence on humanitarian grounds have had allocated spots reduced by 27 per cent to 10,000 in 2025, 6,900 in 2026 and 4,300 in 2027. An application submitted today has to wait at least 10 years for processing, though a person with the right skills may qualify for economic immigration or spousal sponsorship if they marry a Canadian.
The Immigration Department said Ukrainians who wish to immigrate permanently can apply through existing immigration programs, subject to standard eligibility and admissibility requirements. Currently, removals to Ukraine are suspended.
“Canada remains committed to supporting Ukrainians and their family members by providing a temporary safe haven as the war in Ukraine continues, while recognizing that most will eventually return home when it is safe to do so,” it told the Star.
In Chernenko’s case, his family’s only option for permanent status is on humanitarian grounds. His age, limited English and being self-employed (he installs energy-efficient equipment) all work against him in skilled immigration schemes — despite a master’s degree in history from Ukraine and a diploma in supply chain management here.
Although he has a Canadian work permit valid until September 2028, he said he and his family cannot live in limbo here forever.
“We don’t want to have to worry about renewing our permits every three years,” said Chernenko, whose family is paying a lawyer $10,000 to prepare for a humanitarian permanent residence application for his family and 80-year-old mother-in-law. Application fees are extra.
Vitaliy Ivanov, who arrived in Vancouver in April 2023, said Canada did not promise permanent residence under the special program, but like others who spoke to the Star said that many Ukrainians came with the hope that they could qualify for permanent residence. But then immigration policies changed, quotas plunged and goalposts shifted.
“The application processing time is 10 years now so they are telling you, ‘Don’t even think about it,’” sighed the 39-year-old, who is self-employed, working remotely in digital marketing for an American company.
“I have nowhere to go back to. My family left Ukraine for Germany. I’ve established my life, my connections, my friends here. Right now, we kind of feel abandoned and lost.”
Earlier in October, a petition was launched to call on Parliament to establish a one-time permanent residency pathway for those currently in Canada under the Ukrainian program and other temporary emergency immigration measures. It has quickly collected more than 41,000 signatures.
The uncertainty has taken a toll on affected applicants, who constantly fear their permits won’t be extended, children’s education will be cut off and the family will have to leave the country. Without proof of Canadian permanent residency, those from Hong Kong also can’t access retirement savings from the Hong Kong government or financial institutions.
Roy Lee of the Hong Kong Pathway Alliance said Ottawa has approved more than 10,000 permanent residence applications under the special program for Hong Kongers and refused about 200 in the last few years. What’s holding up the processing is the annual immigration quotas, he said.
At the very least, said Lee, Ottawa should issue pending applicants in the backlog “approval in principle” documents so their work, education and life would not be upended.
This article was first reported by The Star
