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.
Showing that the Visa Officer or IRB Member or CBSA Officer Was Biased
Many individuals think that either a visa officer, a Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) officer or an Immigration and Refugee Board member is biased against them. This is not an argument to make lightly. Test for Bias In Committee for Justice and Liberty et al. v. National Energy Board et al., 1976 2 (SCC), [1978] 1 SCR 369, the Supreme Court of Canada held that in order for an individual to demonstrate that a government decision maker is biased, then: the apprehension of bias must be a reasonable one, held by reasonable and right minded persons, applying themselves to the question and obtaining thereon the required information. [T]hat test is “what would an informed person, viewing the matter realistically and practically — and having thought the matter through — conclude. Would he think that it is more likely than not that [the decision-maker], whether consciously or unconsciously, would not decide fairly. As well, the Supreme Court of Canada has also noted that: Regardless of the precise words used to describe the test, the object of the different formulations is to emphasize that the threshold for a finding of real or perceived bias is high. It is a finding that must be carefully considered since … Read More
No Expectation on Applicants to ATIP
Garcia Balarezo v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) is an interesting case which stands for the principle that it is unreasonable for IRCC to expect applicants to submit ATIP requests to learn the internal status of their file and what submissions they might need to make. The Court noted: The officer recognized that both the May 2012 and June 2015 work permits were issued by IRCC in error. However, the officer asserted that Ms. Garcia’s May 2012 and October 2012 work permits “had clear notes on them that PA [principal applicant] was not part of the LC program.” This appears to have been very important in the officer’s thinking, as they repeated the point both in responding to one of Ms. Garcia’s submissions, and again in their conclusion, stating: The errors made on CIC’s part (including issuing first work permit with med instructions to work in childcare field and adding the incorrect remarks to clients third work permit in 2015) have been taken into consideration and there is still insufficient evidence of H&C grounds to warrant exemptions. PA’s rep stated that PA and her employers were aware of Section 112 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and were aware that the … Read More
Religious and Charitable Workers
There are generally two types of religious workers who seek entry to Canada to work. The first are clergy (which includes Buddhist monks, Sikh granthis, rabbis, priests, preachers, pastors, etc.) whose employment in Canada will consist mainly of preaching doctrine, presiding at religious functions, or providing spiritual counselling. The second are religious workers (which includes nuns, monks and field workers). Work Without a Work Permit Section 186(l) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“) provides that such people may work in Canada without a work permit. IRPR r. 186(l) states: 186. A foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit (l) as a person who is responsible for assisting a congregation or group in the achievement of its spiritual goals and whose main duties are to preach doctrine, perform functions related to gatherings of the congregation or group or provide spiritual counselling; Generally, applicants applying to work in Canada without a work permit under IRPR r. 186(l) need to demonstrate that they have a genuine offer of employment from the religious denomination that seeks to employ them, that the organization employing them can provide for their care and support, and that they are able to minister to a congregation under the auspices of … Read More
Temporary Resident Visa Statistics
A Temporary Resident Visa (“TRV”) is a document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) which shows that the person has met the requirements for admission to Canada as a temporary resident. It is typically a counterfoil that is placed in a person’s passport. There are many types of TRVs. Statistics From 2011-2021 (February) the temporary resident visa approval rates based on country of citizenship were as follows:
Permanent Residence Approvals by Visa Office
In 2019 the approval rates for permanent residence applications processed overseas was as follows.
Misrepresentation When the Information Is Readily Available to a Visa Officer
Section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible to Canada for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding a material fact relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of Canada’s immigration laws. The general consequence of misrepresenting is a five-year ban from entering Canada. An issue that often arises is where an applicant mistates or omits information in their visa application, but the information is readily available to a visa officer. Koo v. Canada Koo v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2008 FC 931 is the most frequently cited case on this issue. There, an applicant failed to disclose that he had previously applied for permanent residence, and that the application had been refused. Justice Montigny stated that: I shall now turn to the alleged misrepresentation with respect to the applicant’s previous application for permanent residence. The error occurred when the applicant checked off the “yes” box to the question whether he had “previously sought refugee status in Canada or applied for a Canadian immigrant or permanent resident visa or visitor or temporary resident visa”, but checked off the “no” box to … Read More
Canadian Immigration Embassy Interview Strategies and Tips
When visa officers have concerns regarding a completed application, they often convoke interviews. The interview provides the applicants to address these concerns. In this post I hope to convey to applicants the basic procedural fairness rules that they can expect.
The Reciprocal Employment LMIA Exemption
Regulation 205(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations provides that a work permit may be issued to a foreign national without the employer needing to first obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment if the the employment of the foreign national in Canada would create or maintain reciprocal employment of Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada in other countries. Some obvious examples of where such work permits are frequently issued include in sports leagues such as the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, as well as the Canada World Youth exchange. International Experience Canada, including its most popular program – the Working Holiday Program – also falls under this Labour Market Impact Assessment, as do reciprocal employment arrangements in academia. What is less commonly known, however, is that multinational corporations can also take advantage of this Labour Market Impact Assessment exemption. To qualify, the employer must demonstrate that reciprocity exists. This can be demonstrated by a work contract (if it provides evidence of reciprocity), a Human Resources Global Mobility Policy that demonstrates a balance of bilateral flow, and/or other documents that show that Canadian foreign workers benefit from the ability to travel abroad within the company. As the IRCC website states regarding C-20 … Read More
Borderlines Podcast #54 – Building the Law Career that You Want, with Dennis McCrea
Dennis McCrea was the founder of McCrea Immigration Law. He started practicing immigration law in 1974, and was one of the original members of Vancouver’s immigration bar. In this episode we discuss how to build an immigration practice, how the practice of immigration law has evolved, avoiding burnout and more. 3:00 – How lawyers use to interact with visa officers. 6:00 – The formation of the immigration bar. 11:30 – Thoughts on whether it is possible to have both a corporate immigration practice and a refugee or enforcement practice. 15:30– Did the practice of immigration law become more or less fun over time? 18:00 – What kept Dennis motivated when it came to practicing immigration law? 22:30 – What type of cases did Dennis enjoy the most? 26:00 – What are some tools that lawyers can use to prevent burnout? 41:00 – Did the practice of immigration law vary depending on which political party were in power? 42:00 – How to retire. 45:00 – How can junior lawyers who are trying to build a practice have time for hobbies? 48:00 – How Steven and Deanna got into immigration. 58:00 – Growing a firm. 1:03:00 – Should you article at an … Read More