Ever since the Federal Court dismissed a class-action lawsuit over the Government of Canada’s decision to terminate the Federal Skilled Worker Program backlog, many immigration practitioners have wondered if the government would do the same thing to the Federal Immigrant Investor Program (“FIIP”) backlog. On February 11, 2014, the governing Conservative Party of Canada stated that it would. The 2014 federal budget, called Economic Action Plan 2014, states that the Government of Canada intends to return and refund “certain” FIIP applicants who applied before February 11, 2014. The FIIP Under the FIIP, Canada offers permanent residence in exchange for a guaranteed $800,000 loan (before 2010, the amount was $400,000). The FIIP has long faced criticism. In 2010, Ryan Rosenberg, a Partner at our firm, wrote in The Canadian Immigrant that: Many savvy investors, like my client, look at a $400,000 investment without interest as a lost opportunity and, instead of investing the full amount, seek out financing from one of a number of government-authorized financial intermediaries (“banks”). For years now, the banks themselves, consultants and lawyers have promoted a financing option at $120,000. For $120,000, a bank will lend an investor funds required for investment under the program and facilitate … Read More
Canada to Change Citizenship Requirements
On February 6, 2014 the Government of Canada introduced Bill C-24, The Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act. If passed, Bill C-24 will significantly change the requirements for Canadian citizenship. Prospective citizenship applicants who may not meet the new requirements once Bill C-24 passes are encouraged to apply for Canadian citizenship as soon as possible. The new residency provisions described below will come into effect on June 11, 2015. The following is a summary of the main changes that the Government of Canada is introducing. Residence and other Basic Requirements Under Canada’s current system, a permanent resident can apply for Canadian citizenship if he/she has resided in Canada for three out of the four years preceding the citizenship application. Because the definition of “residence” is not defined, it has been possible for permanent residents who have not been physically present in Canada for three out of four years to obtain citizenship if they could show substantial ties to Canada. As well, each day that an applicant lawfully resides in Canada before becoming a permanent resident counts as a half-day towards the residency requirement. This means that many people can apply for citizenship 2 years after obtaining permanent resident status. Finally, Canada’s current citizenship requirements do … 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
The Beyond the Border Initiative – ETA, Information Sharing, Tracking Exits
[The following is a slightly edited (to include links) version of an article that I wrote for The Canadian Immigrant.] In February 2011, Canada and the United States agreed to the Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competiveness. More commonly known as the Beyond the Border Action Plan, the effect of the agreement was to strengthen co-operation and, in some cases, harmonize Canadian and American immigration practices. The Government of Canada has begun enthusiastically implementing the terms of the Beyond the Border Action Plan, and will in 2014-2015 introduce three significant changes to Canadian immigration legislation that will impact almost everyone who enters Canada. Electronic travel authorization People who wish to visit Canada generally fall into one of two categories: those who need to apply for and obtain temporary resident visas prior to arriving in Canada; and those who can arrive at Canadian ports of entry without first obtaining a visa. This will change in April 2015, when Canada implements the electronic travel authorization (“eTA”) system. All foreign nationals who are exempt from the requirement to obtain a temporary resident visa will instead need to obtain online authorization before they fly to Canada. This includes … Read More
Environmental Overview – Chandigarh – 2013
The following is a summary of the Environmental Overview of the immigration functions at the Canadian Consulate in Chandigarh (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 Consulate in Chandigarh (“CIC Chandigarh”) provides temporary residence processing in northwest India. It recorded a record number of decisions in 2012. In partnership with Delhi and the VAC (VFS), prospective non-immigrant applications are created in GCMS overnight for all applications received by VFS in India, before the applications are physically delivered to mission the following morning. File creation by QRC is not possible due to Indian law prohibiting the international transfer of personal data. As there is no more requirement to scan the 2D barcodes, file creation is completed much more quickly. Only consequence is that Chandigarh appears as the secondary office for all applications received in India (Delhi showing as the principal office); statistical reports and the monitoring of pending applications must take this into consideration. … The elimination of 20 barcode scanning and the overnight creation of prospective applications has freed up some time for the LE3 Registry … 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
Ministerial Instructions – Revoking, Suspending, and Refusing to Process Work Permits and Labour Market Opinions
On December 27, 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) and the Ministry of Economic and Social Development (“Service Canada“) released Ministerial Instructions regarding the revocation of work permits and Labour Market Opinions (“LMOs“), now called Labour Market Impact Assessments (“LMIAs“). The Ministerial Instructions will allow the Government of Canada to rapidly respond to economic developments by immediately reducing the intake of foreign workers, will increase program integrity, and create uncertainty for Canadian businesses. These are the first Ministerial Instructions to be issued by Service Canada since the Government of Canada amended s. 30 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA“) in the first 2013 Budget Implementation Act. Section 30 of IRPA now reads: Work and study in Canada 30. (1) A foreign national may not work or study in Canada unless authorized to do so under this Act. Authorization (1.1) An officer may, on application, authorize a foreign national to work or study in Canada if the foreign national meets the conditions set out in the regulations. Instructions (1.2) Despite subsection (1.1), the officer shall refuse to authorize the foreign national to work in Canada if, in the officer’s opinion, public policy considerations that are specified in the instructions given by the Minister … 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
The CEC Has Changed, What to do Now
[Editor’s note: The following appeared in the December edition of The Canadian Immigrant Magazine] On Nov. 8, 2013, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced significant changes to the Canadian experience class (CEC), which limited eligibility to the popular program. The changes took effect the next day. Hundreds (if not thousands) of foreign workers in Canada who were gaining work experience that previously qualified for the CEC suddenly learned that it did not. For some of these individuals, many of whom are post-graduate work permit holders, career changes will be necessary if they wish to immigrate to Canada. However, in the month following CIC’s announcement, many people researched their options and discovered to their surprise that they qualified for other Canadian immigration programs. Indeed, some even learned that they could have submitted permanent residence applications many months prior to Nov. 8. The CEC changes The changes that CIC introduced to the CEC are significant. First, the program now features annual application caps. From Nov. 9, 2013, to Oct. 31, 2014, CIC will accept 12,000 completed applications to the program. Within the overall 12,000 application cap, CIC will process a maximum of 200 new CEC applications each year per each National Occupational Classification (NOC) Skill … Read More