More than 100,000 Ukrainians in Canada have temporary resident documents that will expire this year. Facing bureaucratic hurdles and long processing times, groups like the Canada-Ukraine Foundation are urging Ottawa to automatically extend their visas for another three years, as Ukraine continues to face Russian aggression.
“Every day I face a huge amount of uncertainty,” Iuliia Slabinska, a Ukrainian who arrived in Canada after the war began, told CTVNews.ca. “I have children, I have to take care of my family, and then all this immigration side is just so stressful.”
After Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, nearly 300,000 Ukrainians were granted three-year visas to live and work in Canada under what’s known as the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) program. More than one million had applied.
With many of their visas now on the verge of expiring, CUAET holders must now apply online for a three-year extension. That may seem simple enough at first glance, but Ukrainians in Canada say they face an uncertain future due to immigration backlogs, delayed processing times and bureaucratic hurdles like being unable to renew their Ukrainian passports.
“When I speak to displaced people here, they’re constantly in limbo,” Canada-Ukraine Foundation executive director Valeriy Kostyuk told CTVNews.ca. “A sustainable solution, which the government can offer if they have the will, is essentially to automatically renew all of the work permits of these people without having them to go through the bureaucratic process of reapplying for the extensions.”
The Canada-Ukraine Foundation and Ukrainian Canadian Congress recently sent letters to Immigration Minister Marc Miller urging Ottawa to provide automatic three-year CUAET extensions. While they have not received an official reply, the government announced on Thursday that it was extending the renewal application deadline by one year until March 31, 2026 for Ukrainians’ work and study permits.
“It is crucial that Ukrainian displaced persons in Canada are able to support themselves and their families, and to study, with which this extension will assist,” Ihor Michalchyshyn, Ukrainian Canadian Congress CEO and executive, told CTVNews.ca.
Kostyuk says the extension is “definitely helpful,” but “not quite what the community has been asking for.”
“The minister said that he’s not going to kick anyone out whose permits expire,” Kostyuk added. “But the thing is the work permits are going to expire. All these people are going to lose their jobs or will not be able to work legally in Canada.”
Further complicating matters, Canada recently announced that it was cutting 3,300 positions at the immigration department while reducing the number of new permanent residents by at least 20 per cent.
‘Exhausting financially, exhausting physically’
Slabinska settled in Langley, B.C. with her husband and two teenagers six months after the Russian invasion. They have worked multiple jobs to make ends meet in Canada. Their visas all expire this year.
“There was such a danger for my family when Russia started bombing,” Slabinska told CTVNews.ca. “We just escaped from the country with what we had. Like, I just grabbed my daughter and my cap and just escaped.”
Slabinska’s 19-year-old son was already studying in Canada before the war. With his Ukrainian passport set to expire this April, it took months of online frustration and a recent flight to Ukraine’s consulate in Edmonton before they were able to get his passport renewed – an important step for a new Canadian visa.
“It’s exhausting financially, exhausting physically,” Slabinska said. “The passport and was such a huge problem, like the biggest problem.”
Slabinska and her family will now apply to extend their stay in Canada for the maximum three years. Because her mother is a Canadian citizen, she has also applied for permanent residence status, but one year after applying, she still hasn’t received a letter of acknowledgement. According to immigration officials, they have processed only 367 out of approximately 23,000 family reunification applications. High volumes of applications are being blamed for the delays.
“I just want to get my (permanent residency) and just keep working,” Slabinska said. “We are good people, hard-working people. We are a nice addition to this community.”
Because of long processing times, Slabinska fears her family could be unable to work if their visas expire before their extension applications are granted. She hopes Ottawa considers the calls to automatically extend work permits.
“Now I am in limbo in terms of work permits, whether I get them, when do I get them, for how long will I get them for, will I get them for three years, as it was promised or not?” Slabinska said. “After I get this work permit, I will breathe easier.”
In a news release Thursday, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada clarified that temporary residents can work and study while their extension applications are under review, and that applications will be accepted from Ukrainians, even if their passports are not up-to-date.
“Canada remains committed to supporting the people of Ukraine and their families as the war continues by providing safety,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in the news release. “That is why, through this extension, our aim is to offer protection while recognizing the long-term goal for many to return home when it is safe and there is a proper peace.”
In a statement to CTVNews.ca, the Embassy of Ukraine in Canada says that while passport renewal appointments are fully booked for the next six months, anyone with an urgent or exceptional case can contact their nearest Ukrainian diplomatic mission.
“The Embassy of Ukraine in Canada, along with our Consulates General in Toronto and Edmonton, is operating under exceptionally high demand for consular services due to the large number of Ukrainians currently residing in Canada,” an embassy official said. “While we are continuously optimizing our processes and increasing our resources, the demand for passport renewals remains unprecedented.”
Daniel Otis