Palestinians applying for a special visa who have left the Gaza Strip will not be covered by the special program to reunite with their extended family members in Canada. Unless they have completed the application process before leaving Gaza.
In January, the government launched the special visa program, under which Canada will grant temporary asylum to 1,000 people from Gaza who have extended family members in Canada.
But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirmed in a statement that those who left for Egypt before completing the second stage of the application process would no longer be eligible. Instead they have to resort to other immigration programs to come to Canada.
The government has tried to help more than 300 Palestinians trapped in Gaza escape across the border controlled by Egypt and Israel. But so far not successful. Some families have paid thousands of dollars to private companies to help their family members seek asylum in Egypt. They are still stuck in Gaza.
