The ability of an applicant to be admitted to Canada despite not meeting the requirements for an immigration program is one of the more complicated areas of immigration law. Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that an immigration officer may grant a foreign national permanent resident status or an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligations of the Act if doing so is justified by humanitarian & compassionate considerations. Section 25(2), however, contains an important exception, which states that: Provincial criteria (2) The Minister may not grant permanent resident status to a foreign national referred to in subsection 9(1) if the foreign national does not meet the province’s selection criteria applicable to that foreign national. Section 9(1) of the Act provides: Sole provincial responsibility — permanent residents 9. (1) Where a province has, under a federal-provincial agreement, sole responsibility for the selection of a foreign national who intends to reside in that province as a permanent resident, the following provisions apply to that foreign national, unless the agreement provides otherwise: a) the foreign national, unless inadmissible under this Act, shall be granted permanent resident status if the foreign national meets the province’s selection criteria; (b) the foreign … Read More