The Immigration Appeal Division has a webpage with useful statistics that can be found here. I have reproduced the data as of 2020 below in case the IRB for whatever reason moves the data. Appeals by Region – 2020 (January to December) All Appeals Filed Filed Stayed Finalized Pending (as of 2020/12/31) Allowed Dismissed Abandoned Withdrawn & Other Total Stayed Non-Stayed National 2,343 108 1,305 1,134 172 557 3,168 679 2,494 Eastern 544 43 314 342 37 134 827 226 580 Central 1,087 42 517 427 92 230 1,266 367 1,282 Western 712 23 474 365 43 193 1,075 86 632 Sponsorship appeals filed (subsection 63(1)) Filed Stayed Finalized Pending (as of 2020/12/31) Allowed Dismissed Abandoned Withdrawn & Other Total Stayed Non-Stayed National 1,244 0 852 570 122 471 2,015 0 1,234 Eastern 251 0 160 155 21 107 443 0 214 Central 540 0 326 197 67 192 782 0 639 Western 453 0 366 218 34 172 790 0 381 Removal order appeals filed (subsection 63(2), (3)) Filed Stayed Finalized Pending (as of 2020/12/31) Allowed Dismissed Abandoned Withdrawn & Other Total Stayed Non-Stayed National 410 108 262 197 30 38 527 679 514 Eastern 109 … Read More
Original Signatures, Digital Signatures and Copies of Signatures
One of the more frustrating aspects of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program from an application procedure angle can be determining whether ESDC accepts digital signatures, and whether an individual other than the 3rd party representative can sign for the person named as the third party representatives. Helpfully, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program Wiki appears to answer that digital signatures are accepted in the TFWP, and that if there is no doubt that an individual works in the same law firm as an authorized third party then it is reasonable to accept that this individual can sign as an authorized representative. In the Family Class, IRCC has confirmed that applicants should double check the document checklist to determine which forms require original signatures, and for which forms a copy is ok.
Informing IRCC of a Pregnancy
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s acknowledgements of receipts for permanent residence applications generally contain some variation of the following statement: Please inform the visa office of any changes in your application (e.g. birth or adoption of a child, marriage or common-law relationship, new occupation or employer, change of address, change of e-mail address, change of immigration representative, etc). Please include a letter identifying what the changes are and any relevant supporting documents. If your documents are not in English or French, send a notarized (certified) translation with a copy of the originals. It is generally clear to most applicants that failure to do the above can result in an application being refused for failure to comply with s. 16(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the “Act”), and s. 51 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, which together state: 16. (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires. 51. A foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa and is seeking to become a permanent resident must, at the time of their examination, (a) … Read More
Studying without a Study Permit
Foreign nationals are required to obtain a study permit for engaging in academic, professional, vocational or other education or training that is more than six months in duration at a designated learning institution (“DLI“) in Canada. So what does this mean, and who doesn’t need a study permit? The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the “Act“) provides that every minor child in Canada, other than a child of a temporary resident not authorized to work or study, is authorized to study at the pre-school, primary or secondary level. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (“IRPR“) further provide that a foreign national does not need a study permit to study in the following circumstances: (a) if they are a family member or a member of the private staff of a foreign representative who is properly accredited by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and who is in Canada to carry out official duties as a diplomatic agent, consular officer, representative or official of a country other than Canada, of the United Nations or any of its agencies or of any international organization of which Canada is a member; (b) as a member of the armed forces of a country that is a designated state for the … Read More
Statistics on Removals
The following PDF contains internal Canada Border Services Agency documentation regarding removals from 2012-2019. It includes removals broken down by inadmissibility, the number of administrative deferrals of removals, yearly removal priorities, breakdowns by top country, cost of removals, the number of outstanding removal orders and temporary suspensions of removal.
Migration Office Overview – Berlin
The following is the 2018 Migration Office Overview for Berlin.
C-14 Work Permits
On February 17, 2016, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) introduced a Labour Market Impact Assessment (“LMIA”) exemption for foreign nationals in the television and film industry whose position or occupation is essential to a TV or film production. On September 13, 2021 IRCC narrowed the LMIA exemption. The exemption previously read: (exemption code C14) – Canada.ca”] The current requirements are that the work that a foreign national is performing must be: essential to a live-action TV or film project in the production stage (filming): Essential positions are those where the physical presence of foreign workers on location in Canada is required to generate the expected benefit; be high wage: Evidence of high-wage work is meant to establish that Canada will reap a significant economic benefit (for example, tax revenue) from hiring a foreign national and to protect the Canadian labour market from wage suppression; unionized: Proof of unionized work demonstrates that the employment of the foreign national is critical to the production occurring in Canada while protecting the direct employment of Canadians. Occupations that may meet these criteria include, but are not limited to, actors and actresses, directors, stunt persons, lighting specialists and choreographers. Consideration under this exemption is … Read More
Paying to Wait to Immigrate
In the immigration world, the waiting game is a fact of life.
Borderlines Podcast Episode #46 – An Interview with Sergio Marchi, Canada’s Immigration Minister from 1993-1995
Sergio Marchi was Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration from 1993-1995. 3:00 – Does someone keep the Minister title their whole life? 4:50 – What was the political consensus regarding Canadian immigration at the end of the 1980s? How did the Reform Party impact things? 8:00 – The mix of immigrants between economic, family and humanitarian immigrants. 11:15 – What dictates whether IRCC meets its level targets? 14:30 – The Brian Mulroney government was considering moving immigration under Public Safety. Under Sergio Marchi it instead became it’s on Ministry. What prompted this? 17:30 – Canadian attitudes to refugee resettlements and misconceptions. 20:45 – Sources of resistance to refugee resettlement. Resettled refugees vs asylum seekers. 23:00 – Changes that Minister Marchi made to the refugee determination process. 25:00 – What was Minister Marchi’s approach to intervening on specific cases? When would Minister Marchi help Members of Parliament on constituent files? Did it matter which political party the MP was from? 32:00 – The impact of a police officer who was shot by an illegal immigrant on deportation policy. 36:00 – Whether the Canada Border Services Agency should be under the immigration umbrella. 37:30 – What Minister Marchi considers to be his … Read More
Borderlines Podcast Episode 45 – Spousal Sponsorship Delays and Refusals, with Chantal Dube and Syed Farhan Ali
Syed Farhan Ali shares his Canadian immigration story. During the time that his spousal sponsorship application was in process he was denied temporary entry to Canada, missed the birth of his first child and missed her first steps. He recently arrived in Canada after a three year application process. Chantal Dube is a Spokesperson for Spousal Sponsorship Advocates, a group with more than 5,000 members in Canada that argues for reforms to the family reunification process. 3:15 Said tells the story of his spousal sponsorship application. His application took 34 months to process. During the processing of his application Canada denied his visitor visa applications. He missed the birth of his children and their first steps, although he was able to reunite with his wife during brief trips to the United States, which did grant him a visitor visa. 21:00 We discuss the refusal of temporary resident visas for people with spousal sponsorship applications in process, people with frequent travel histories, people with American multiple entry visas, and judicial reviews. 25:00 How long a judicial review takes. 29:50 Assessing genuineness in a spousal sponsorship application, and the distinction between “low risk and high risk” in the checklists. 33:00 The … Read More