Anticipated Arrival of Thousands of Ukrainians Before Visa Deadline
Andrii Batitskii and his wife, Kateryna Bondarenko, are reconstructing their lives in Surrey, B.C., after escaping the ravages of war in Ukraine.
Hailing from Kharkiv, a city merely 30 kilometers from the Russian border, the couple joins the ranks of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians who sought refuge in Canada through the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET). This temporary emergency visa program was swiftly implemented following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The initiative facilitated an accelerated process for Ukrainians to establish residence and employment in Canada for a duration of up to three years.
As per the federal government’s records, over 960,000 Ukrainians received approval to relocate to Canada via CUAET, which ceased accepting applications last July. As of Wednesday evening, nearly 250,000 Ukrainians have already reached Canadian shores under this emergency visa initiative.
“It has been my aspiration to come here,” expressed Batitskii.
Before the March 31 deadline, thousands more Ukrainians are anticipated to make their way into the country, aiming to meet the cutoff set for CUAET recipients to enter Canada.
Mykhailo Ozorovych, the pastor of the Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in New Westminster, B.C., reports a significant influx of Ukrainians in recent weeks.
He anticipates the arrival of thousands more before the March 31 deadline and assures that his church in Metro Vancouver is fully prepared to embrace the newcomers.
“Just a welcome smile and language, I think, is one of the biggest gifts we can offer,” said Ozorovych. “It’s Canadians and generosity and hospitality that we’re able to successfully welcome tens of thousands of people into British Columbia.”
For those already residing in Canada and aiming to extend their visas until 2027, such as Batitskii and Bondarenko, the application deadline looms by month’s end.
Failure to meet this deadline could result in the loss of crucial government support services—ranging from financial assistance to language courses—after March 2025, potentially complicating Ukrainians’ ability to remain and work in Canada.
According to Daniel Lee, an immigration attorney at Fasken law firm, there exist alternative pathways to stay in the country if individuals miss the deadline, albeit with added complexities.
“Should individuals miss out, they would need to pursue the standard route of applying for a work permit or a study permit, which typically proves more arduous,” explained Lee.
He further elaborated that securing a work permit, a process taking four to five months, necessitates an employer’s endorsement of the application, along with proof that no other qualified candidates are available for hire.
