On August 1, 2015, Canada will adopt an Electronic Travel Authorization (“eTA“) program that is similar to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (“ESTA“) that the United States currently has, and the Electronic Travel Authority that Australia has. In order to minimize impacts on the travelling public and Canadian travel and tourism industries, eTA-required travellers will be exempted from this new entry requirement until March 15, 2016. The eTA will impact nearly all travellers to Canada who do not have to apply for Temporary Resident Visas (“TRV“) to visit Canada. According to the Gazette, TRV-exempt foreign nationals, excluding U.S. citizens, represent approximately 74% of foreign nationals who arrive by air in Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) does not currently screen these individuals for admissibility until they arrive at a Canadian port of entry (“POE“). Rather, TRV-exempt nationals are examined by the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) only upon arrival at a POE . As noted in the The Canadian Immigrant excerpt above, the eTA will change this. However, on June 21, 2014, the Government of Canada (“GoC“) in the Canada Gazette (the “Gazette“) published proposed amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“) pertaining to the eTA. On April 22, 2015, the final version of the IRPR amendments were published. … Read More
Service Canada Ends the International Graduate LMO
More to follow.. http://www.esdc.gc.ca/eng/jobs/foreign_workers/higher_skilled/students/index.shtml Effective immediately, the Department is ending the Recruitment and Advertisement Exemption for employers wishing to hire international students who have graduated from recognized Canadian post-secondary institutions and whose Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) is expiring. Employers submitting a labour market opinion (LMO) to hire an individual transitioning from the PGWP must now ensure that they meet all of the Program requirements for the applicable stream:
Language Requirements for Immigration (IR-11)
During the time that I have been writing this blog the most frequently asked question that readers have asked me is whether their IELTS band scores are sufficient for certain immigration programs. Some people have even offered to book initial consultations with me just so that I would review their IELTS scores. This has always been somewhat surprising to me given that the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC) website publishes each of its program’s respective language requirements in a clear and concise manner. Indeed, it is not just members of the general public that seem to be confused. As shown in the exchange below, which I obtained through an Access to Information Act request, some immigration lawyers are unclear of the requirements. (Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada.) Question – May 21, 2013 Dear Sir/ Madam, I have been referred to your office, by Karen Flynn, of NHQ-Immigration in Ottawa, her phone number is _______. I practice immigration law in Toronto, and I have the … Read More
Immigration Applications are not Processed in the Order that they are Received
[Editor’s Note: The following appeared in the September 2012 version of The Canadian Immigrant. In drafting a blog post about a similar topic I realized that I had never posted the article below to my blog. I am therefore posting this today. The title in The Canadian Immigrant article was “What Applicants Should Look for In New Immigration Rules.“] People who follow Canada’s immigration system have undoubtedly had trouble keeping up with the rapid changes that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has introduced in the past several months. From the termination of 300,000 federal skilled worker applications to the proposed “Start-up Visa,” the announcements have been fast and furious, and each one has been debated extensively. In discussing each individual change, however, the public discourse has largely missed the shift in the forest by focusing on each tree. There is a fundamental transformation underway in Canada’s immigration system, and it is important that anyone submitting a visa application understand this before applying. First in, first processed Traditionally, Canada’s immigration system operated on a first-come first-processed basis. Our immigration legislation created programs under which eligible applicants could apply. People submitted applications under various programs with the understanding that while they would have to … Read More
Can My Child Go to School for Free in British Columbia?
Although it is not directly related to immigration, one of the questions that we are often asked is whether someone’s child is eligible for publicly funded education in British Columbia. Many school board websites, such as the Vancouver School Board‘s, state which documents certain foreign nationals and permanent residents should provide so that their children may attend publicly-funded elementary and/or secondary school. However, many people (including some staff at these school boards) are unaware of the “why” or the policies behind the information on these websites. The predictable result is uncertainty as soon as scenarios which are not listed on school board websites occur. The Law Section 82 of British Columbia’s School Act provides that school boards must provide education free of charge to every student of school age if the student and the student’s guardian are ordinarily resident in British Columbia. It states: 82 (1) A board must provide free of charge to every student of school age resident in British Columbia and enrolled in an educational program in a school operated by the board, (a) instruction in an educational program sufficient to meet the general requirements for graduation, (b) instruction in an educational program after the student has met the general … Read More
Biometric Travel Headaches
On December 1, 2013, I noted that Canada has introduced a biometric requirement for nationals of certain countries. I wrote: Biometrics is the measurement of unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints and facial features, for the purpose of verifying identity. Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC’s) goal in requiring that certain foreign nationals provide biometrics is to make it more difficult for individuals to use another person’s identity, and to prevent criminals, deportees and previous failed refugee claimants from (re-)entering Canada using false identification. By Dec. 11, citizens of the following countries will be required to give their biometrics (fingerprints and digital photograph) when they apply for a visitor visa, study permit or work permit: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Vietnam and Yemen. Applicants from the above-listed countries will be required to go to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) or a visa office (if a VAC is not available) to give their fingerprints and have their photographs taken. Digital copies will be sent to the Royal Canadian Mountain Police and to … Read More
Change to Age of Dependency Pushed Back
Citizenship and Immigration Canada is informing immigration representatives that the proposed reduction in the age of dependency from 22 to 18 is being pushed back. (The same is rumoured to true for proposed changes to the study permit system.) The e-mail that CIC is sending out reads: Dear Sir/Madam: Thank-you for your query. Please be advised that a proposal to reduce the age of dependents from under 22 to under 19 was pre-published in the Canada Gazette Part I on May 18, 2013, along with the proposed regulatory changes to the PGP program. The proposal to change the age of dependent children will not be coming into force at the time the PGP program re-opens on January 2, 2014. Trusting this addresses your concerns. As noted previously in this blog, currently, the children of immigrants may immigrate to Canada with their parents if they are under the age of 22. As well, young adults over the age of 22 who have been continuous full-time students since turning 22 may also accompany their parents. Under the proposed change, the maximum age of dependants will be reduced to 18 years of age for all immigration programs. There will be no exception for full-time post-secondary … Read More
Environmental Overview (New Delhi)
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi (the “Environmental Overview”). The Environmental Overview was prepared as part of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2013-2014 planning exercise, and is current as of January 2013. Areas in blockquote are direct passages from the Environmental Overview. Environment The Canadian High Commission in New Delhi (“CIC New Delhi”) is CIC’s largest overseas mission. It provides permanent resident processing for India, Nepal, and Bhutan, with the assistance of Chandigarh for temporary resident processing. It also processes medicals nationals of the above countries, as well as for Pakistan and Afghanistan. Canadian vetting procedures for Indian military, police and intelligence officers still continue to be a significant bilateral irritant. Although there have been no refusals of temporary resident applications for these types of applicants in 2012-13 and requests for additional information for screening purposes are no longer made, the Indian government continues to raise the issue with Canadian officials at the highest levels. Countering the impact of refusals that were given media attention in 2010 still remains a challenge. A full-time resource is devoted to responding to the 75-100 e-mail communications that CIC-Dakar … Read More
LMO Q&A: Employer Doesn’t Have Business License OPS/BE-004
During a consultation last month, a foreign worker and an employer told me that the employer was interested in obtaining a Labour Market Opinion to continue employing the foreign worker. The employer, however, did not have a business license, and for various reasons refused to obtain one. The employer wanted to know whether Service Canada would still approve his Labour Market Opinion. While I did not know the answer off the top of my head, I luckily had a copy of the internal TFWP OPS/BE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS document that I have slowly been uploading to this blog. Please note that what I have reproduced below should not be viewed as legal advice. I obtained a copy of this internal Service Canada question and answer through an Access to Information Act request (the “ATI”). The reproduction of question and answer has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. (I have decided not to reproduce the names of the Service Canada officers involved.) Please e-mail me if you want a copy of the original question and answer contained in the ATI. BACKGROUND: The above named employer submitted a Labour Market Opinion application December … Read More
Introducing Biometrics for Certain Visa Applicants
[The following article of mine was published in Canadian Immigrant Magazine.] Canada has joined the United States, Japan, most of Europe and Australia in requiring biometric information from certain foreign nationals. Biometrics is the measurement of unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints and facial features, for the purpose of verifying identity. Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s (CIC’s) goal in requiring that certain foreign nationals provide biometrics is to make it more difficult for individuals to use another person’s identity, and to prevent criminals, deportees and previous failed refugee claimants from (re-)entering Canada using false identification. By Dec. 11, citizens of the following countries will be required to give their biometrics (fingerprints and digital photograph) when they apply for a visitor visa, study permit or work permit: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Vietnam and Yemen. How biometrics will work Applicants from the above-listed countries will be required to go to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) or a visa office (if a VAC is not available) to give their fingerprints and have their … Read More