Operational Bulletin 560-A – November 22, 2013
Measures in Response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
Summary
This Operational Bulletin (OB) instructs officers about the measures currently undertaken by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in response to Typhoon Haiyan (or Typhoon Yolanda) in the Philippines.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will continue to monitor the situation carefully as it evolves. If needed, it will also provide additional instructions through subsequent Operational Bulletins (OBs).
Background
Typhoon Haiyan made landfall in the central Philippines on November 09, 2013 (EST). The city of Tacloban in the central Leyte province bore the brunt of Typhoon Haiyan. It is worth noting that Tacloban city is about 852.1 Km southeast of Manila. Other parts of the central Philippines also sustained damage. However, Typhoon Haiyan did not affect major cities like Cebu City and Metro Manila significantly.
The Embassy of Canada in Manila did not face any adverse impacts on account of Typhoon Haiyan. Therefore, it remains open for providing services and support to its clients. In addition, Visa Application Centres (VACs) in Manila and Cebu City continue to remain open. Furthermore, Panel Physicians in the Philippines also continue to remain open.
The Special Program Coding
Officers would need to use the special program code UE4 for any applications relating to Typhoon Haiyan that they process on a priority basis. Typically, these applications would come from applicants who:
- Are from the affected areas and,
- Are personally affected by the typhoon
Officers would need to use the special program code UE4 in the following systems:
- The Global Case Management System (GCMS)
- The Global Case Management System – Citizenship (GCMS – Citizenship)
- The Field Operations Support System (FOSS) or,
- The Case Processing Centre (CPC) Systems
Officers might also come across certain Computer Assisted Immigration Processing Systems (CAIPS) affected by the problem. In this scenario, the officers would need to convert these cases to the Global Case Management System (GCMS).
Agents would need to record the project title as UE4 under the project screen. However, they would only need to do this for the citizenship module of the Global Case Management System (GCMS).
The office processing the case would need to apply the program code. However, this would only take place once an officer determines that the case meets the criteria for the special program code.
The Financial Coding (Internal Order Number)
The authorities have envisaged that situations could arise where officers need to carry out various efforts and activities related to Typhoon Haiyan. These activities and efforts would entail a certain amount of incremental costs. These costs would typically include salary and non-salary expenditures.
Therefore, the authorities have asked officers to code all efforts and activities related to Typhoon Haiyan to Internal Order (IO) number 1000819. This would enable the authorities to identify the financial impact on the Department.
The Current Measures
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) is carrying out a number of measures at present, in response to Typhoon Haiyan. In particular, it is placing an emphasis on providing priority processing for family members including:
- Spouses
- Partners and,
- Dependent children
Therefore, it is asking officers to place the applications from the above-mentioned family members at the front of the queue for processing.
However, it is only doing this for family members of Canadians and permanent residents who:
- Are from the affected areas and,
- Are personally affected by the typhoon
Therefore, the applicant or the sponsor carries the responsibility for self-identification. The applicant or the sponsor would also need to show that they:
- Are from the affected areas and,
- Are personally affected by the typhoon
The Steps Taken by Overseas (Visa Office in Manila) and In-Canada (Centralised Processing Region and Domestic Regions in Canada)
Overseas (Visa Office in Manila) and In-Canada (Centralised Processing Region and Domestic Regions in Canada) offices are:
- Providing priority processing for new and existing applications for citizenship certificates (proof of citizenship) and permanent resident cards
- Providing priority processing for applicants from affected areas who are significantly and personally affected by the Typhoon, on request
- Providing priority processing for adopted dependents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, on request
- Monitoring messages received in the following electronic immigration mailboxes for identifying the priority cases from the affected areas:
- Assessing new temporary resident visa applications from overseas – especially those from people in the affected areas and people who are family members of Canadians and permanent residents, in a flexible and compassionate manner
- However, the authorities are not waiving the regulatory and statutory requirements in these cases
- Assessing in-Canada temporary resident extension applications received from visitors, workers and students of Filipino origin, in a flexible and compassionate manner
- However, the authorities are not waiving the regulatory and statutory requirements in these cases
The Passport Program (Passport Program’s Rapid Response Team)
The Passport Program’s Rapid Response Team is:
- Issuing the Emergency Travel Documents to affected Canadians for returning to Canada, as appropriate and,
- Waiving the requirement for affected Canadians to provide proof of travel
The Affected Areas
The affected areas include:
- Leyte Province
- Northern Samar Province
- Eastern Samar Provinces
- Samar Province
- The Northern portion of Cebu Province
- Parts of Panay Island (including Northern Iloilo and Capiz)
- Parts of Masbate Island
- Northern Palawan (Coron) and,
- Boracay Island
The Significantly and Personally Affected
The authorities denote significantly and personally affected persons as being those individuals who have lost the following on account of Typhoon Haiyan:
- Family members, especially spouses, partners and dependent children of Canadian citizens and permanent residents
- Property and / or,
- Livelihood
The Establishing Family Members
In certain cases, officers might require some functional guidance in establishing identity and relationship. For this, the officers would need to refer to OB 179-B.
The Immigration Medical Examination
All applicants would need to complete an Immigration Medical Examination (IME). Only then would the officers be able to finalise their applications. Applicants would need to refer to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website for a complete list of Panel Physicians in the Philippines.
Officers would need to process Immigration Medical Examinations (IMEs) on a priority basis. This is especially so for applications that meet the eligibility for priority processing.
The Medical Insurance
Officers would need to make sponsors and applicants aware of the availability of private medical insurance, prior to their arrival in Canada. It is worth noting that not all provinces and territories extend immediate health coverage to recent arrivals. This is applicable even to permanent residents and temporary residents.
The New Sponsorship Applications for Parents and Grandparents
The temporary pause on new sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents continues to remain in force.
Officers would need to notify applicants of the possibility of applying for the Parent and Grandparent Super Visa. The authorities would assess their applications in a flexible and compassionate manner. However, this would only apply to applicants who are parents or grandparents of Canadians and permanent residents.
The Potential Refusals
Officers could come across cases of potential refusals of applications from the affected areas only. They would need to send the case details to the specific distribution list mentioned on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website. They would also need to communicate with the Case Management Branch (CMB) in this regard.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
