As published in the May Canadian Immigrant magazine: In November 2011, the Auditor General of Canada Michael Ferguson released a report criticizing the Canadian government for having what he essentially described as a completely inadequate screening process for detecting people who pose a security risk to Canadians. As one might expect, this did not go over too well with a Conservative government that spent much of the autumn session pushing a public safety agenda. It responded to the auditor general’s report by promising to comply with his recommendations, and stating that it had already begun to make significant investments to improve security screening. Previously, people with criminal convictions occasionally entered Canada undetected. Border officials would also often let them into Canada on a short-term basis without requiring much paperwork. Now, both of these scenarios are likely to become less common. It is, therefore, important that people who have been convicted of a criminal offence determine in advance whether they will likely be prohibited from entering Canada. Will you be inadmissible to Canada? If a conviction exists, then it is necessary to determine whether the conviction’s equivalent offence in Canada would be a summary, hybrid or indictable offence under an act of … Read More
Comparing Immigrant Assimilation in Canada and the United States
The Wall Street Journal was out with a piece over the weekend titled Immigrants Are Still Fitting In. It is a summary of a recent study by the Manhattan Institute which compared immigration assimilation in North America and Europe. The WSJ produced the following chart which summarizes the study’s findings: As the chart shows, the study found that Canada ranks highest amongst Western democracies in terms of assimilation. The study cited the following possible reasons for why Canada might rank ahead of the United States in this regard: Two facets of Canadian immigration policy may help explain the rapid integration of foreigners into Canadian society. First, the path to citizenship in Canada is short and easily traveled. Foreigners face a three-year residency requirement (it is five for legal permanent residents in the United States and as many as twelve in some European countries), and the nation has taken a liberal stance toward dual citizenship since 1977. Second, Canadian immigration policy places a distinct emphasis on attracting skilled migrants. Thirty percent of foreign-born adults in Canada have college degrees, while the rate is 23 percent in the United States and 10 percent in Spain and Italy. Educational attainment is not a … Read More
Canada Sharing Biometric Data
Citizenship and Immigration Canada has released Operational Bulletin 226, which discusses the sharing of biometric information further to the Five Country Conference (FCC) High Value Data Sharing Protocol. The FCC (Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand) meets annually at the Deputy Minister level to discuss ways to improve immigration. In 2007, Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia (New Zealand was not yet a member) to committed to work towards the systemic exchange of biometric data for immigration purposes.
Biometric sharing has now commenced.
Am I a Tax Resident in Canada or China?
A person who is a Canadian tax resident must pay income tax on his/her worldwide income. As previously noted in this blog, people who try to evade paying taxes in Canada on income earned abroad face heavy penalties.