Ottawa says 12,000 additional Ukrainians have been approved for arrival in Canada.

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the biometrics security requirement is being dropped for some low-risk applicants including those under 17 and over 60 as well as those with a travel history to Canada.

“The reality is we made one of the most substantial commitments globally to say we’re going to have 40,000 come here and we expect we’re still on track to hit that goal next year of at least 40,000 but the reality is there’s going to be some people among the millions of communication the department’s received, who may not end up living in Canada one day,” said Minister Fraser.

Fraser says so far, 10,000 refugees have arrived in Canada.