Typhoon Ondoy Victims of the Philippines get special Immigration consideration

Aside from the $5 million humanitarian assistance pledged for the victims of typhoon Ondoy, the Government of Canada also announced special immigration measures for typhoon victims in the Philippines.


Government of Canada announces special immigration measures for typhoon victims in the Philippines

Ottawa, October 1, 2009 — Residents in the Philippines who are significantly affected by Typhoon Ketsana are being offered special measures to facilitate immigration to Canada, announced Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney.

“I would like to express my deepest sympathy and support for the people of the Philippines affected by this terrible disaster,” said Minister Kenney. “This government is moving quickly to reunite Canadians and permanent residents with their families by extending a welcome to those who wish to come to Canada.”

Effective immediately, Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC) visa office in the Philippines is responding on a priority basis for those directly affected by the disaster.
This will be applied to new and existing applications from Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected persons who have close family members in the Philippines. They must, however, identify themselves as being directly and significantly affected by the current situation and notify CIC [source].


This New Immigration measure only applies to Family Sponsorship Class only and not with Federal Skilled Workers (FSW) application.

For Permanent Residents and Canadian Citizens with existing sponsorship application you must notify the the CIC Call Centre at 1-888-242-2100 (in Canada only) to identify your existing applications, if the family that you have sponsored has been adversely affected by the typhoon.

For those who are about to submit your sponsorship applications, you should have “Philippines” prominently written on the mailing envelope of your application package.

Both new and old sponsorship must be able to prove that,significantly affected by the current situation in notifying CIC.