Temporary Public Policy Concerning Tibetans Living in the State of Arunachal Pradesh in India

The Minister hereby establishes the following temporary public policy under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

As of March 17, 2011, applications for permanent residence made under the IRPA by persons who are displaced Tibetans living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India who have been matched with an approved sponsor in Canada shall be assessed along with their family members by delegated officers to determine whether permanent residence status in Canada could be granted to them on the basis of the criteria that are set out below. Up to 1,000 displaced Tibetans, including principal applicants and their eligible family members, may be accepted under this public policy. Principal applicants and their eligible family members, whether they accompany the principal applicant or not, will be counted towards this total.

Officers are to consider permanent residence in Canada for persons who are displaced Tibetans living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India who:

demonstrated their identity as a displaced Tibetan;
have resided in Arunachal Pradesh prior to, and have continued to reside in Arunachal Pradesh since, December 18, 2010;
are matched with an approved sponsor in Canada throughthe Project Tibet Society, the umbrella organization that will support implementation of this public policy;
are not inadmissible on grounds of security, criminality, war crimes and crimes against humanity, organized crime, health and misrepresentation; and
demonstrated their ability to successfully establish in Canada.

For the purposes of this public policy, approved sponsors in Canada are either:

a group of five individuals who have signed an agreement of undertaking to provide for income and settlement support that is equal to provincial social assistance rates minus any in-kind donations for one year; or
a settlement organization who has signed an agreement of undertaking to provide immediate settlement support for a period of time that will be established by the Department, as well as income support that is equal to provincial social assistance rates minus any in-kind donations for one year.

Green Books issued to Tibetans outside of Tibet can be accepted as proof of identity for the purposes of this public policy. Applicants without a Green Book must establish their identity as a displaced Tibetan to the satisfaction of the Immigration Officer through alternate means.

Applicants wishing to settle in Québec will be subject to the Province of Québec’s selection criteria further to subsection 25.2 (3) of IRPA, and cannot be granted