Spousal Sponsorships where the Sponsor Does not Live in Canada

Meurrens LawFamily Class (Spousal Sponsorships, Parents & Grandparents)

Section 133(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the “Regulations”) provides that: A sponsor who is a Canadian citizen and does not reside in Canada may sponsor a foreign national who makes [an application to sponsor a member of the Family Class] and is the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child who has no dependent children, if the sponsor will reside in Canada when the foreign national becomes a permanent resident. (Emphasis Added) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) may scrutinize in some detail the sponsor’s intention to actually reside in Canada with their spouse, or to simply get the principal applicant permanent resident status without actually immigrating to Canada. Permanent residents may not sponsor from outside Canada under any circumstances. Questions The Embassy of Canada in the United Arab Emirates previously asked applicants to complete a Residency Questionnaire for their sponsors if they reside outside of Canada.  These questions can serve as a useful guide to anyone submitting a family class application where s. 133(2) of the Regulations applies. Is your sponsor currently a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident?  Is your sponsor currently in Canada? If yes, then how long has the sponsor been physically residing … Read More

RIMBits Revealed (July 2010)

Meurrens LawInadmissibility, Maintaining Permanent Residency

The following are some excerpts from the July 2010 RIMbits.  RIMbits are messages sent from National Headquarters to missions overseas.  The July 2010 RIMbits on admissibility consisted of eight questions and answers or bulletins.  I have reproduced three of them for free below. Please note that the questions and answers below should not be viewed as legal advice.  Rather, they are simply reproductions of how CIC senior management answered specific questions from visa offices in July 2010. Canadian citizen Visiting Forces Act applicant Q. We ask for your opinion on the process for a Canadian dual citizen and his family who wish to enter Canada under the Act on Visiting Forces at the request of the ________ government. The applicant and spouse currently have official _____  passports. The sons, also dual citizens, have an ordinary ____ passports stating “son of government agent.” With what documentation should the applicant and his sons travel? Obtaining proof of Canadian citizenship for the children could take 14-16 months. Also, the spouse has no status in Canada. The Foreign Worker Guide indicates that dependents of people who are in Canada under the Visiting Forces Act qualify for an open work permit. As the spouse of … Read More

RIMbits Revealed (June 2010)

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

The following are some excerpts from the June 2010 RIMbits.  RIMbits are messages sent from National Headquarters to missions overseas.  The June 2010 RIMbits on admissibility consisted of six questions and answers.  I have reproduced two of them for free below. Please note that the questions and answers below should not be viewed as legal advice.  Rather, they are simply reproductions of how CIC senior management answered specific questions from visa offices in May 2010. Appeals Allowed and Resumption of Examination Q. Our FC1 case went to appeal at the IAD and was allowed. The decision states that the Panel is disgusted with the behaviour of the appellant and the applicant and that their behaviour cries out for further investigation, but it is not within the mandate of this panel to carry out such an exercise. In light of this written comment in the decision, we would like to know if we can re examine and refuse the application as a marriage of convenience. We originally refused under A40(1)(a). A. When the application for admission of a member of the family class is refused, the sponsor may appeal to the IAD on either legal or humanitarian grounds. Since the refusal … Read More

RIMbits Revealed (May 2010)

Meurrens LawInadmissibility

The following are some excerpts from the May 2010 RIMbits.  RIMbits are messages sent from National Headquarters to missions overseas.  The May 2010 RIMbits on admissibility consisted of seven questions and answers.  I have reproduced three of them for free below. Please note that the questions and answers below should not be viewed as legal advice.  Rather, they are simply reproductions of how CIC senior management answered specific questions from visa offices in May 2010. Seized Travel Document Q) We were notified by the authorities that a permanent resident travelling on a Canadian travel document has been charged with: (1) ______ (2) _____ and (3) _____. According to local authorities, the permanent resident has been released on bail with the condition that she surrender her travel document and that “Stop Orders” are placed with the Immigration exit controls at airports.  We have been formally requested not to issue a new travel document to this permanent resident “until the matters have been disposed.”   As the charged person is not a Canadian, the Consular Section has referred this case to us.  Although she has not done so at this point, it is possible that in the near future, this permanent resident … Read More

Enforcing Removal Orders and Authorization to Return to Canada: Scenarios, Questions, and Answers

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

One of the more common questions that I am asked is when people who have been told  by the Government of Canada to leave Canada need to submit an Application for Authorization to Return to Canada (“ARC”) before they return. I have obtained a copy of internal Citizenship and Immigration Canada material which addresses some of these questions, and which I have adapted and produced below.  Please note that the material below has been adapted from a document dated 2009-10.  It is from an official work by the Government of Canada which was obtained through Access to Information and Privacy Act Request.  I have reviewed it and believe that it is correct and current. However, the scenarios below should only be used for informational purposes.  It is NOT legal advice. As well, the reproduction of the training materials has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the Government of Canada. Scenario 1 Tiger Johnson, a citizen of the USA,was issued a Departure Order on August 4, 2008.  When he left Canada, he did not confirm his departure with the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”).   In 2012, he shows up at the Canadian … Read More

ATIP Results for CAPIC Presentation

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

I will be presenting in Vancouver tonight at the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants annual general meeting  on the recently changed Federal Skilled Worker Class and the Canadian Experience Class.  This follows up on a presentation I made on the same topic at the Canadian Bar Association annual immigration conference in Montreal. As part of my presentation, I have made available the following ATIP result publicly available.  This ATIP contains training manuals and internal procedures used at Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia.  It can be viewed by clicking the link below. ATIP CIO TRAINING MANUALS – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/compressed.PDF I have also reposted the following copies of ATIP results which I made available for the Canadian Bar Association conference in Montreal. ATIP 1 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP1.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on substituted evaluation; Several e-mail discussions regarding issues with the PhD program; Processing delays with the CEC; Issues with the 2D barcode and GCMS; Addressing problems with Indian Birth Certificates; and more. ATIP 2 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP2.PDF Contains: An e-mail discussion on working overtime to process capped applications; Clarifying the use of Academic IELTS; E-mails on processing reconsideration requests; and Several OBs (most already public, and some not). ATIP 3 – https://s3.amazonaws.com/cdn.stevenmeurrens.com/docs/ATIP3.PDF Contains: GCMS … Read More

The Cost of Detaining “Illegal Immigrants”

Meurrens LawInadmissibility

When the Canada Border Services Agency began dramatically increasing enforcement operations, many wondered where the Department was going to detain individuals. The provinces, especially Ontario, has indicated for many years that they do not want to be in the “detention business.”  The internal document below shows that at one point the Department went so far as to approach the Department of National Defence to host some immigration detainees, particularly in the case of mass arrivals and security certificate cases.  Ultimately, as the document below also indicates, the Department of National Defence was not interested. Neither the provinces nor DND appear to be interested in using their facilities to detain “illegal immigrants.”  Given this, I am always surprised when a few CBSA officers (certainly not all, or even most) decide to detain people as a matter of course, only to have them be released only a few days later by the Immigration Division. Please note that the document below was obtained through an Access to Information and Privacy Act Request, and to my knowledge is not otherwise publicly available.  The reproduction of this document has not occurred with the affiliation of the Government of Canada, nor with the endorsement of the … Read More

Temporary Foreign Workers to Canada by Year and Job

Meurrens LawImmigration Trends

The debate over temporary foreign workers is back in the news.  I have received a copy of the results of an Access to Information and Privacy Act request which shows the breakdown of admittance of foreign worker by year and occupation.  (I am not publishing this document on my blog, however, if you want a copy feel free to e-mail me.) The table below shows the breakdown in 2005 (the last year that the Liberal Party of Canada was in government) and 2011 (the most recent year available).  That I have chosen these years of course has limitations in terms of detecting trends (who knows if an occupation had an “on” or “off” year?).  However, the data is nonetheless interesting, and shows an explosion in the number of people in certain occupations. Occupation 2005 2011 Percentage Change Legislator and Senior Management 1,205 2130 77% Administrative Service Managers 610 1005 65% Managers in Financial and Business Services 200 390 95% Managers in Communication (Except Broadcasting) 25 40 60% Managers in Engineering, Architecture, Science and Information Systems 610 1615 165% Managers in Health, Education, Social and Community Services 55 90 64% Managers in Public Administration 25 35 40% Managers in Art, Culture, Recreation, and … Read More

Which Members of Parliament are Getting the TRPs?

Meurrens LawInadmissibility

The media is reporting today that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC“) is unsure over whether individuals who received Temporary Resident Permits (“TRPs”) which were issued at the requests of Members of Parliament (“MPs”) ever left Canada.  I have received a copy of the results of an Access to Information and Privacy Act request which shows the breakdown of TRPs issued by MP.  (I am not publishing this document on my blog, however, if you want a copy feel free to e-mail me.) The table below shows which MPs, presumably through their respective constituency offices,  successfully requested TRPs since around January 2009.  I have included only current sitting MPs.  That I have done so means that any conclusions reached about partisanship in the granting of TRPs would be based on incomplete information.  The reason that I am posting this is that it does show that MP requests for TRPs are frequently granted, and that constituents should not feel shy about approaching their MPs. The list is:   Member of Parliament Riding Party Number Bob Deschert Mississauga—Erindale Conservative 22 Wayne Martson Hamilton East—Stoney Creek NDP 12 John Baird Ottawa West – Nepean Conservative 10 Jason Kenney Calgary Southeast Conservative 8 Nina Grewal Fleetwood – Port … Read More