Parliamentary Committee Notes: Consular and Safe Passage Support
Between August 15, 2021 (the end of the air-bridge) and April 14, 2022, Canada helped over 1,900 Canada-entitled persons leave Afghanistan.
The High Commission in Islamabad continues to support Canada-entitled persons in Afghanistan who wish to depart by ensuring that people are fully documented and can access options for departure when they become available.
Canada continues to work with a wide range of partners, including regional governments, like-minded countries, private sector service providers, and non-governmental organizations, to address a wide range of shared challenges related to safe passage.
Supplementary messages
Canada continues to work with a wide range of partners, including regional governments such as Pakistan and Qatar, like-minded countries, private sector service providers, and non-governmental organizations, to address a wide range of shared challenges related to safe passage.
We are pleased to note the expansion of commercial aviation options between Kabul and numerous regional hubs where Canada can offer consular and immigration services.
Emergency consular services are available to Canadians 24/7 through the Emergency Watch and Response Centre at Global Affairs Canada.
Supporting facts and figures
Canada-entitled persons are Canadian citizens, Canadian permanent residents, and non-Canadian nuclear family members (as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act definition)
Responsibility for the management of Afghanistan-related consular matters transferred to the High Commission in Islamabad on February 18, 2022.
1,832 Canada-entitled persons known to the Government of Canada departed Afghanistan between the end of the air-bridge on August 15, 2021 and February 18, 2022.
75 Canada-entitled persons left for Canada since February 18, 2022, and approximately 55 and 126 Canada-entitled persons, known to the High Commission, still remained in Pakistan and Afghanistan respectively. Some families in Pakistan are leaving for Canada in a next few weeks.
All consular enquiries by Afghan-Canadians since February 18, 2022 are related to obtaining travel documents for Canadian citizens and their family members. The majority of Afghan-Canadians known to the High Commission looking to return to Canada are waiting for family members to obtain proper documentation from IRCC to depart.
Canada-entitled persons may choose to remain in Afghanistan for a variety of reasons, including extended family connections or business interests.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has also facilitated the departure of foreign nationals from Afghanistan. The numbers indicated above do not include foreign nationals who have departed through the Special Immigration Measures for Afghanistan program.
Afghanistan: safe passage
The Government of Canada is committed to welcoming at least 40,000 Afghans to Canada; while many Afghans seeking resettlement in Canada were evacuated in summer 2021, many more remain in Afghanistan and are unable to leave.
The most difficult hurdles in getting people out of Afghanistan remain the lack of safe, secure and reliable routes out of the country, the absence of stable conditions, and ever-changing circumstances around what exit documentation is required at check-points and international crossings into third countries.
Canada is deploying its full diplomatic weight regarding the ongoing crisis in Afghanistan through a variety of channels including through the G7, Five Country forums and United Nations to ensure safe passage routes for Afghans bound for Canada.
Background
There are still many Afghans who have not been able to travel to Canada under the special immigration program, including some who may have had a relationship with the Government of Canada. IRCC continues to process accepted applications as quickly as possible, but it will take time for people to arrive in Canada.
Canada does not recognize and has no formal diplomatic relationship with the Taliban. However, Canada's Senior Official for Afghanistan (SOFA) is based in Doha, Qatar, and regularly engages with Taliban officials in coordination with a group of likeminded on issues relating to safe passage and other Canadian interests.
The Taliban is a listed terrorist entity under the terrorist listings provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada. These provisions prohibit any financial transactions with a listed terrorist group, precluding the Government of Canada from engaging in any purchases of materials or resources in Afghanistan where any element of that money may go to the Taliban through tax remittances or other fees, legal or illicit.
Canada has an obligation to biometrically screen all refugee applicants before they arrive for national security purposes. As this cannot currently be done in Afghanistan, the government continues to seek options for a third country staging ground to process Afghan refugees.
Canada's High Commission in Islamabad continues to support Canada-entitled persons in Afghanistan who wish to depart by ensuring that people are fully documented and can access options for departure when they become available.
Canada continues to work with a wide range of partners, including like-minded countries, private sector service providers, and non-governmental organizations, to address shared challenges related to safe passage.
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