Family Reunification

If you can afford it
Lola Mommy Nora plays with her grandson, Zoe
Lola Mommy Nora plays with her grandson, Zoe

WINNIPEG – Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that the federal government would resume accepting immigration applications for parents and grandparents on January 2, 2014. The program was put on hold in December 2011 to cut down on a huge backlog that resulted in wait times of up to eight years. The continuing backlog, which is estimated to be down to 80,000 applications by the end of this year, means that processing will still take years.

Many Filipino immigrant families who have been waiting for the lifting of the moratorium on parents’ sponsorship were elated upon hearing the news. But their joy was short-lived when they learned that there would be new tougher criteria for sponsors that will make it even harder, especially for those who are still financially struggling.

Implying widespread abuse of the program, the Harper government plans to introduce the following new criteria for sponsoring a parent or grandparent:

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Welcome to Canada
Philippines is top source of newcomers
NAIA
Ninoy Aquino Intern'l Airport; the departure point for most of Canada's newcomers

OTTAWA –  The Philippines was the leading country of birth among people who immigrated to Canada between 2006 and 2011, according to data in the National Household Survey (NHS) released by Statistics Canada on May 8. In 2011, approximately 152,300 newcomers were born in the Philippines, 13.1 per cent of all newcomers. Stats Can also reported last October that Tagalog was the top immigrant language in Winnipeg and had the highest growth among all immigrant languages in the nation, increasing by 64 per cent since the previous census in 2006.

China was the second highest source of immigrants, from which roughly 122,100 newcomers or 10.5 per cent arrived, and India, from which about 121,400 or 10.4 per cent originated. Completing the top 10 countries of birth were the United States, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Iran, South Korea, Colombia and Mexico.

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Philippine Consular outreach in Manitoba

Sessions set for June 15–19, 2013

phil.passportWINNIPEG – A date has been set for the next series of sessions to provide Philippine consular services in Manitoba. The session will run for five days in Winnipeg from June 15 to 19, 2013.

Orlando Marcelino, the Manitoba organizer for Philippine Consular Outreach, announced the dates this morning (May 17) after receiving confirmation from the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Toronto. Marcelino is now in the process of securing a venue for the event and recruiting volunteers to organize and assist the consulate team in running the sessions. The official team will consist of five consulate staff members from Toronto and three from Ottawa.

Over the past few months, Marcelino has been compiling a mailing list of well over 2,300 applicants for this event. As reported last month in the Pilipino Express, the outreach ream will be able to accommodate only 1,950 applicants who are already on the schedule, however, those who need other non-passport-related services, such as a Special Power of Attorney or NBI Clearance, may attend the sessions without an appointment.

The PCG will post the official applicants’ list on its web site shortly. Visit them at www.philcongen-toronto.com

For further information, please contact the Manitoba Consular Outreach Organizer, Orlando Marcelino at  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .