The Government of Canada has introduced amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations which will restrict which schools are eligible to have international students study at them. Effective January 1, 2014, the issuance of study permits will be limited to international students attending designated learning institutions. Currently, most provinces and territories have a mix of public educational institutions, private degree-granting institutions, and private non-degree-granting career colleges. The latter are subject to varying degrees of regulations, and private language schools are generally not regulated at all. Previously, any of these institutions could host international students on study permits. Under the new regulations, however, only students attending designated institutions can receive study permits. Designated institutions include: a learning institution that is administered by a federal department or agency; if a province has entered into an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in respect of learning institutions that host international students, a learning institution in Canada that is designated by that province under the agreement; and if a province has not entered into an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada in respect of learning institutions that host international students, then any of the following: a public post-secondary learning institution in Canada that is recognized … Read More
Enforcement Flag Removal Policy Change
Many people entering Canada find themselves at customs being constantly referred to secondary examination. There, they are often told by the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) that their referral to secondary examination was the mandatory result of an enforcement flag being on their file. Referral to secondary examination is time consuming. Unnecessary referrals are a burden on both travellers and CBSA. Because of this, CBSA was traditionally quite facilitative when it came to individuals requesting that an enforcement flag on their file be removed. As a supervisor from the CBSA explained to me in an e-mail, enforcement flag removal works as follows: The flag removal process doesn’t delete information, it merely closes the connection between the immigration database and the integrated system on the primary inspection line on that specific client. The process is not visible to the naked eye – I use this analogy: You get a lamp for a wedding present from “her” mom. You hate it. It’s a motion sensor lamp and it is hardwired into the wall. You can’t get rid of it, you can’t unplug it, you can’t take the light bulb out but you want the thing to stop lighting up every time you … Read More
Guest Post: Suing your Spouse for Fraudulent Marriage
(Note from Steven: I met John at the Canadian Bar Association British Columbia branch annual conference in San Francisco. He is currently involved in some fascinating litigation representing an individual who sponsored a spouse only to watch her immediately divorce him after she immigrated. She also left him on the hook for tens of thousands of dollars in social assistance payments. I invited John to some write articles for this blog, and here is the first of what will hopefully be many into this issue.) — Marriage fraud happens. You meet a nice person. They live in another country. You get along. They or one of their relatives suggest that you get married. So you get married. You sponsor your spouse’s immigration to Canada and sign an undertaking that you will supply the necessities of life for three years and pay any social assistance that that person takes from the government. All of a sudden, your new spouse leaves. And doesn’t come back. No explanation. No fight. It’s just over. You realize that they never had any intention of staying married. And in the worst case scenario, you get a bill three years later from the government for social assistance … Read More
Federal Skilled Trades Class to be Capped at 3,000 Applicants
As previously discussed here, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) will be introducing a new Federal Skilled Trades Class (“FSTC”), which will facilitate the immigration of certain skilled tradespersons in Canada. The Government of Canada originally “announced” the creation of the FSTC in August through the publication of regulatory changes, however, CIC today released new information which will be relevant to prospective applicants. The FSTC will be open to individuals with experience in the following National Occupation Classification (“NOC“) B occupational areas: Industrial, Electrical and Construction Trades; Maintenance and Equipment Operation Trades; Supervisors and Technical Occupations in Natural Resources, Agriculture and Related Production; Processing, Manufacturing and Utilities Supervisors and Central Control Operators; Chefs and Cooks; and Bakers and Butchers. Applicants to the FSTC will be required to meet the following four minimum requirements: Be working in Canada, or possess a LMO-supported offer of employment from up to two employers in Canada of at least one year duration, or possess a Certificate of Qualification from a provincial or territorial Apprenticeship Authority; Meet the same minimum language threshold as required by the concurrently to be introduced new Federal Skilled Worker Class, namely a 7.0 on every language ability; Have twenty-four months of work experience … Read More
Biometric Regulations
It is commonly accepted that identification documents which rely on a person’s name, date of birth, and even photograph, are increasingly inadequate to detect fraud or to accurately confirm a person’s identity. As such, the Government of Canada today announced regulatory changes which specify that certain foreign nationals will have to provide biometric information when applying to enter Canada and when actually entering Canada. As indicated in the table below, starting in 2013, temporary resident visa applicants, study permit applicants, and work permit applicants from prescribed countries will have to have their biometric information collected overseas before they arrive in Canada. This information will then be checked by the Canada Border Services Agency when the applicants arrive at a Canadian port of entry. As well, the RCMP may analyze whether the person has previously made a refugee claim or been deported from Canada. The biometric information which will have to be provided include fingerprints and a facial image. Applicants will have to provide this information at Visa Application Centers. The prescribed countries, and the dates by which foreign nationals holding travel documents from these countries will have to submit biometric information at Visa Application Centers, are: List of Countries Whose … Read More
First Designation of Irregular Arrivals
On December 5, 2012, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (the “Minister“) made his first designation of irregular arrival under Bill C-31, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act. The Washington Post is reporting that the 85 people were designated, including 35 children. Thirty of the irregular arrivals have already been arrested thus far. The refugee claimants appear to be Romanian, and arrived in Canada between February and October.
BC PNP Suspends Fast-Track Option
Demonstrating once again why it is important for representatives to contain “change of law” clauses in their retainer agreements, the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (“BC PNP“) has effective immediately suspended the Fast Track nomination option in the business immigration stream. The suspension will affect applications in processing. Applicants with applications in processing who as of November 15, 2012, had not signed performance agreements with the Province of British Columbia (the “Province“) will not be eligible for the Fast Track option. Such applicants can either (1) continue under the regular nomination process, or (2) withdraw their application and receive a refund of their application fee. Through the Fast Track option, BC PNP business applicants who obtained PNP supported work permits and who had arrived in British Columbia to set up their respective businesses could request immediate nomination for permanent residence if they posted a $125,000 performance bond with the Province. The bond was returned without interest to Fast Track nominees when they fulfilled their respective PNP performance agreements, but was forfeited by nominees if they failed to meet their performance obligations. According to the Province, since 2007, only 26 Fast Track nominees successfully completed their performance agreements, compared with 261 business applicants nominated through … Read More
Conditional Permanent Residency for Some Spousal Sponsorships
On October 26, 2012, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) implemented conditional permanent residency for certain people who immigrate to Canada under the spousal-sponsorship program. The implementation of conditional permanent residency took affect on October 25, 2012, the day prior to CIC publicizing it. The change was not retroactive, and will not affect sponsorship applications which were received by CIC prior to October 25, 2012. CIC has stated that the goal of introducing conditional permanent residency is to reduce instances of marriages of convenience. What Conditional Permanent Residency Is, and Who it Applies to Conditional permanent residency applies to individuals who are the spouse, common-law, or conjugal partner of their sponsor for two years or less when they submit their sponsorship applications and who do not have children in common with their sponsor when they submit the sponsorship applications (“Conditional Permanent Residents“). Conditional Permanent Residents are required to cohabit in a conjugal relationship with their sponsors for a continuous period of two years after the day on which they become permanent residents (the “Condition“). If CIC determines that Conditional Permanent Residents have breached the Condition, CIC will declare them inadmissible to Canada, and removal proceedings will be initiated. Conditional Permanent Residents are able to appeal such decisions to the Immigration … Read More
Canada Introducing The Electronic Travel Authorization Program
Without any press release, and without any indication at having meaningfully discussed the issue with Canadians, the Conservative government has introduced legislation which will create a program similar to the Visa Waiver Program in the United States. Described as the “Electronic Travel Authorization” initiative, visitors to Canada from visa exempt countries, including presumably those from Europe and the United States, will soon have to complete an online form on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website to find out if they are admissible to Canada. Those cleared for travel will have to print the online confirmation and present it along with other travel documents before boarding an air plane destined to Canada. Division 16 of Bill C-45, also known as the second budget implementation bill, contains provisions which will amend Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as follows: 308. Section 11 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is amended by adding the following after subsection (1): Electronic travel authorization (1.01) Despite subsection (1), a foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply for an electronic travel authorization required by the regulations by means of an electronic system, unless the regulations provide that the application may be made by other means. The application may be examined … Read More
Is It Legal that the Customs Officer Searched my Phone?
One of the most frequent complaints that clients voice to us about Canada’s immigration system is the way that they view themselves as being treated at customs. Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) officers routinely search individuals’ cellular phones, laptops, and in some cases even make them log onto Facebook. Not surprisingly, these poor travellers wind up asking themselves “how can this be legal in Canada?” The short answer is “because the courts have okayed it.”