One of the quirkier features of Canadian immigration law is the distinction between what is generally referred to as the “Inside-Canada Sponsorship” process and the “Outside-Canada Sponsorship” process. The biggest myth is that if a couple is residing in Canada then they must use the “Inside-Canada Sponsorship” process. This is not true. However, each program contains advantages and disadvantages vis-a-vis the other, and I have provided a list of the key features and requirements of each program below. Inside-Canada Process Outside-Canada Process The spouse/common-law partner must be in a genuine, conjugal relationship that was not entered into for the primary purpose of acquiring an immigration benefit. The spouse/common-law partner must be in a genuine, conjugal relationship that was not entered into for the primary purpose of acquiring an immigration benefit. The spouse/common-law partner must reside together in Canada. The spouse/common-law partner do not have to reside together in Canada. As well, once a common-law relationship is established, periods of separation will not change their common-law status if there is a short separation that does not sever the common-law partnership. The applicant must live with the spouse/common-law partner inside Canada during the duration of processing. The applicant can live with … Read More
Can People Working Without Status Enforce Contracts?
The Ontario Labour Relations Board (the “OLRB“) has just released a fascinating decision which involves the interplay between immigration and employment law. The case involved a German foreign national who entered into an employment agreement with Essar Steel Algoma (the “Employer“) prior to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) issuing him a work permit to work for the company. Things did not work out between the Employer and the foreign national, and the Employer terminated the relationship. The United Steelworks of America (the “Union“) filed a grievance, and the issue of when the foreign national became an employee of the Employer arose. The OLRB decision involved numerous factual determinations involving contested issues of when the foreign national alerted the Employer that he was a foreign national who required a work permit, whether the Employer promised the foreign national that obtaining a Labour Market Opinion (“LMO“) would be easy, and whether the Employer rescinded the foreign worker’s job offer upon the LMO being rejected. Lurking in the background of these factual disputes was the legal issue of “when does a foreign national become an employee of an employer?” The Union argued that as a matter of contract law a person becomes an … Read More