Why the CBSA Enforces What it Does

Meurrens LawInadmissibility

The Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA“) in 2011 produced the Integrated Intelligence / Enforcement Priorities Report (the “Report“).  The Report is interesting because it presents succinct descriptions of what CBSA considers to be areas of importance in the enforcement context related to immigration, and why it considers these issues important. Practitioners may find these summaries useful in explaining to clients why we ask some of the questions that we do. I have reproduced sections of the report below: Residence Fraud What Is It Canada’s immigration and citizenship legislation both contain residency obligations which must be met in order to be granted citizenship or maintain PR status in Canada. Section 28(1) of the IRPA requires that a PR be physically present in Canada for 730 days in a 5 year period. Failure to meet the residency obligation can result in the loss of PR status and removal from Canada. Furthermore, in order to be eligible for citizenship, section 5 the Citizenship Act requires that a PR accumulate at least 3 years of residence in Canada within the 4 years immediately preceding their application.In many instances, individuals who do not meet the residency requirements under the IRPA use fraudulent documentation or other means to … Read More