Immigration department says 144 Gazans on track to come to Canada, pending biometrics

Ottawa has processed visa purposes for 144 folks within the Gaza Strip, placing them on monitor to be reunited with prolonged members of the family in Canada — so long as they will make it throughout the border for biometric screening and closing approval. 

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada opened a program to supply momentary visas to as many as 1,000 folks within the besieged Palestinian territory, if their relations can assist them in Canada. 

But Immigration Minister Marc Miller has warned that the federal authorities can’t assure folks will have the ability to cross the border out of Gaza, which is tightly managed by Israel and Egypt. 

The 144 individuals who have made it by way of many of the utility course of as of Tuesday will nonetheless have to bear additional screening in Egypt, together with biometrics, earlier than they are going to be granted a visa.

The Immigration Department started accepting purposes on Jan. 9, however hasn’t but stated what number of it has obtained to date. 

The division says the time it takes to course of an utility varies from individual to individual relying on the knowledge they supply.