Canada opens its doors for Israelis due to northern escalation

Of note (published data does not include Israel as not in the top 30 countries so hard to confirm assertions by Harel):

After the Canadian government opened its doors in February due to the Israel-Hamas war by allowing Israelis to apply for a work visa until June, the country has decided to extend the immigration initiative for another year due to Israel’s escalation with Hezbollah in the North.

The work visa option for Israelis will be available until July 31, 2025.  The extension for the visa application was believed to be done after political pressure was exerted by Canada’s Jewish community as tensions in Israel continued to rise during the Israel-Hamas war.

Israeli citizens must meet two conditions in order to receive the visa.

The first requirement is that they have a tourist visa in their possession, regardless of their arrival date. The second requirement is that the Israeli citizen must have relatives who are Canadian citizens or holders of permanent residency. 

Michal Harel, who moved to Canada in 2019, established the non-profit website ovrimtocanada.com with her husband.

According to Harel, thousands of Israelis have moved to Canada since the start of the immigration initiative, and following the announcement of its extension, hundreds more families are expected to move to make the move as well. “According to our estimates, thousands of Israelis have arrived. Thousands of people have contacted us, and surely some have arrived even without contacting us,” she said.

“Since moving to Canada in 2019 we’ve been helping Israelis make the big move up north,” the website says.

Source: Canada opens its doors for Israelis due to northern escalation

About Andrew
Andrew blogs and tweets public policy issues, particularly the relationship between the political and bureaucratic levels, citizenship and multiculturalism. His latest book, Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias, recounts his experience as a senior public servant in this area.

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