TORONTO -- International permanent residency holders who have not been able to come to Canada because of COVID-19 travel restrictions will be allowed into the country even if their confirmations have expired, a spokesperson for the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marco Mendicino told CTVNews.ca.

The emailed statement said that global migration has been “upended” by the pandemic, and acknowledged that travel restrictions have had a “significant impact” on Canada’s immigration system.

Many international permanent residency holders who received a valid confirmation of permanent residency (COPR) after travel restrictions were announced March 18, 2020, were facing expiring visas.

Normally, COPRs cannot be extended.

Now Mendicino’s office has confirmed to CTVNews.ca that “regardless of the validity of documents right now, we will ensure that new Permanent Residents approved after March 18 can come to Canada once current travel restrictions are lifted.”

Few specific details about that promise were provided.

The statement explains only that “applicants with expiring documents may eventually be able to have their COPRs extended once they’re permitted to come to Canada,” and that the minister's office and Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will “share information on this extension when the time comes…we’re regularly monitoring the situation.”

“We want to be clear: they will not have to start the full application process over again,” the statement reads.