Section 122 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states:
122. (1) No person shall, in order to contravene this Act,
(a) possess a passport, visa or other document, of Canadian or foreign origin, that purports to establish or that could be used to establish a person’s identity;
(b) use such a document, including for the purpose of entering or remaining in Canada; or
(c) import, export or deal in such a document.
The consequence of being found guilty of s. 122(1)(a) is liability to conviction on indictment of up to a term of imprisonment of a maximum of 5 years. The average sentence winds up ranging from 4 months – 2 years imprisonment. It is rare for a conditional sentence to be imposed.
The consequence of being found guilty of ss. 112(1)(b)-(c) is conviction on indictment to a term of imprisonment of up to 14 years.
An additional, and important, consequence, is that if you are convicted of an offense under s. 122 of IRPA, then you will be inadmissible to Canada for at least five years.
» Read more about: Using a Fake Passport to Enter Canada »
Read more ›If you have a s. 34(2) Application for Ministerial Relief being processed then you need to read this. The Federal Court of Appeal (the “Court”) has just released a ruling that has turned this area of the law upside down, and that will likely result in your application being rejected. You need to contact your immigration consultant or lawyer to discuss the implications of this case.
Read more ›I have previously written that criminal convictions for foreign offenses can result in individuals being inadmissible to Canada. I was recently asked what the implication of charges or pending charges that have not yet been adjudicated.
Read more ›An individual who has been convicted of offense outside of Canada needs to determine what the equivalent offense would be in Canada.
Read more ›People issued removal orders often want to know how long they can stay in Canada before they have to leave, and if there is a chance to defer removal.
Read more ›People applying for a Canadian permanent resident visa are regarded to undergo medical examinations. Many people with certain conditions are understandably apprehensive about how these examinations will impact their ability to immigrate. In this post, I hope to provide an overview about the issue of “excessive demand on health or social services,” which is probably the medical evaluation component that causes the most misconceptions.
Read more ›A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible to Canada on grounds of violating human or international rights for committing an act outside Canada that constitutes an offense referred to in sections 4 to 7 of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act.
Mugusera v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), is a Supreme Court of Canada decision which determined which elements of an offense must be present in order for an action to constitute a crime against humanity. The Court stated:
119 As we shall see, based on the provisions of the Criminal Code and the principles of international law, a criminal act rises to the level of a crime against humanity when four elements are made out:
1. An enumerated proscribed act was committed (this involves showing that the accused committed the criminal act and had the requisite guilty state of mind for the underlying act);
2. The act was committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack;
3. The attack was directed against any civilian population or any identifiable group of persons; and
4. The person committing the proscribed act knew of the attack and knew or took the risk that his or her act comprised a part of that attack.
Widespread and Systemic
A widespread attack may be defined as massive, frequent, large scale action, carried out collectively with considerable seriousness and directed against a multiplicity of victims. It need not be carried out with a specific strategy, policy, or plan.
A systemic attack is one that is thoroughly organized and follows a regular pattern on the basis of a common policy involving substantial public or private resources.
» Read more about: Crimes Against Humanity »
Read more ›People who either face removal or who have received a removal order should contact a lawyer immediately to determine what their options are. The purpose of this post is to provide an overview of the legislative scheme for deferring removal orders. It provides a general framework, and cannot substitute the advice that a lawyer can give when he applies these facts to your situation.
Read more ›Are you an individual who has served in the government, the public service, the military, or the judiciary of a government that might have engaged in human rights or international rights obligations? Are you considering traveling to, working in, or immigrating to Canada? If you answer yes to either of these questions, you will definitely want to read on to determine whether your application could be in jeopardy.
Read more ›
On December 8, 2010, the Federal Court released its decision in Masych v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2010 FC 1253 (“Masych“) The case involved an individual whose temporary work permit application was denied because she did not produce income tax statements from 2002-2006 after an immigration officer (the “Officer”) requested that she do so. The reason that the Officer wanted copies of her tax statements was not to confirm her employment history for determining whether or not she was qualified for the job that she was applying for, but rather to determine whether or not she was inadmissible for having ever committed tax evasion.
The applicant had never been convicted of a criminal offense. No evidence was ever presented that she had been charged with a criminal offense. Finally, it is important to note that the applicant lived in the United Kingdom from 2002-2006, a country with a legal system similar to Canada’s.
The applicant did not produce the income tax statements as requested, and her application was rejected on the grounds that the Officer was unable to determine whether or not she was inadmissible to Canada for having committed an offense abroad that would constitute an indictable offense in Canada (tax evasion). The Federal Court upheld the Officer’s decision. The Court noted that the Officer had a duty to be satisfied that the applicant was not inadmissible, and that tax evasion could result in an applicant being inadmissible.
A reading of the case suggests that the only argument that the applicant’s counsel made was that the applicant had provided a statement stating that she only worked part time, confirmed by the employer, and that this should have satisfied the visa officer. The Federal Court quickly punted this decision aside noting that such a response did nothing to alleviate the officer’s concern.
» Read more about: Income Tax Statements and Inadmissibility »
Read more ›Social Media
