The federal government has announced a range of special measures to support foreign workers, international students, permanent residents, and Canadian citizens affected by wildfires in Northern Alberta earlier this month.

These measures include priority processing and free replacement of Canadian citizenship and immigration documents, as well as extension of temporary resident status and the waiving of certain requirements for visitors, workers and students.

Wildfires forced more than 80,000 residents to flee the Fort McMurray area in early May. Unseasonably high temperatures, high winds, and dry conditions meant that the fire spread quickly, engulfing many homes and businesses in the process. As a result of the wildfires in Fort McMurray and surrounding areas, citizenship and immigration documents belonging to Canadians, permanent residents, protected persons, and temporary residents may have been lost, damaged or destroyed. In addition, work and study permit holders may be unable to immediately continue their work or studies.

Over recent years, many immigrants to Canada, as well as a large number of temporary foreign workers, moved to Fort McMurray, attracted by a booming economy in the oil sands of Northern Alberta, which has some of the largest oil deposits in the world. The government of Alberta had previously announced that applicants to the Alberta Immigrant Nominee Program (AINP) who have been affected will be given an additional year to maintain eligibility while their application is in the queue awaiting processing.

Special Measures

To support those affected, the department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC, formerly CIC) approved special measures to waive some fees and other specific requirements for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and temporary residents.

The following documents may be replaced at no cost and on an urgent priority basis until August 3, 2016:

• citizenship certificates;
• permanent resident cards;
• permanent resident travel document (paper or electronic);
• confirmation of permanent residence;
• verification of status;
• work permits;
• study permits; and
• visitor records.

Fees for study permit extensions and work permit extensions are also waived until August 3, 2016.

In addition, the following measures are now in place:

• Work permit holders whose work permit is expiring may continue to work under the same terms as the expiring work permit if they apply for a new work permit by August 3, 2016. Open work permit holders may work for any employer in Canada. Employer-specific work permit holders may continue to work for the employer named on their work permit.
• Work and study permit holders will also be permitted to apply for an extension of their work or study permit even after the initial work or study permit has expired if the application is made, in the case of workers, by August 3, 2016, or in the case of students, by November 3, 2016.
• Work and study permit extension fees will be applied to applications received after August 3, 2016.
• The requirement to be actively studying and making progress toward a degree, diploma or certificate has also been waived until November 3, 2016, for study permit holders whose designated learning institution has been affected by the wildfires.

To qualify for the special measures, affected applicants must self-identify to IRCC and be able to demonstrate that their residence, place of work and/or designated learning institution location has been directly affected by the disaster.

Affected applicants can send an email to the dedicated email address, CIC.Alberta-Fire-Alberta-Feu.CIC@cic.gc.ca, requesting consideration of their application under the special measures.

To learn more about how the special measures affect specific types of individuals in Alberta, click here.