Section 16 of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states: 16 (1) A person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires. In other words, all applicants must provide truthful answers throughout the application process and produce all necessary documents and evidence as requested by the officer. Purpose of the Law The primary objective of s. 16(1) of the IRPA is to ensure the integrity and efficiency of the immigration pro ..read more

“When and why did Canada develop the legal powers to detain and deport immigrants?” This is the question asked by Simon Wallace, a PhD Student at Osgoode Hall Law School and refugee lawyer, in his paper published in Queen’s Law Journal titled “Police Authority is Necessary”: The Canadian Origins of the Legal Powers to Detain and Deport, 1893 – 1902. Mr. Wallace joins us today to discuss the origins of Canadian deportation law and its initial targeting of Romanian Jewish refugees ..read more

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC“) webstates describes the C-26 work permit as follows: Professional and semi-professional coaches and athletes working for Canadian-based teams Full or part-time paid coaches and trainers, and professional or semi-professional athletes working for Canadian-based teams require work permits. Given the international mobility in this field, they may be eligible for exemption from an LMIA pursuant to paragraph R205(b), C20, if they can prove that reciprocity exists for the particular occupation in their home country. A full-time coach is a wor ..read more

The first question on the Application to Sponsor and Undertaking form asks: 1) If you are found ineligible to sponsor, indicate whether you want To withdraw your sponsorship. All processing fees less $75 will be repaid. OR To proceed with the application for permanent residence. In order to understand what this question is about, it is important to review the steps to bringing a family member to Canada. The first is to successfully apply to sponsor the family member.   This costs $75 in processing fees.  Reasons that a sponsorship application will be rejected include crimin ..read more

From the IRCC website. A work permit is a document that allows a foreign national to work legally in Canada. It has rules or ‘conditions’ that the worker must follow, and often contains other “additional information” and “remarks.” Conditions vs. Remarks The conditions of a work permit specifically tell a foreign national what they can and can’t do. For example, it might say that they can only work at one particular place and nowhere else. Sometimes, there are details on a work permit that are just ‘additional information’ or ‘remarks.’ These are not the same as conditions. They give more in ..read more

Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary. In Borderlines Podcast Episode 69 we discussed his case Mohammad v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2022 FC 1, in which the Federal Court quashed an Immigration Appeal Division decision, stating that the IAD did not properly give enough weight to the unique contributions that Ms. Mohammad made as a health care worker during COVID-19, and the debt that was owed to her. The IAD disagreed with the Federal Court, and Raj Sharma sought judicial review again. The case, and today’s episode, provides an insight into how redetermination works, and ..read more

Lev Abramovich is an immigration lawyer in Toronto. There has been an increase in security screening in Canadian visa applications for residents of several countries. Chen v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 885 is the first Federal Court of Canada decision to discuss mandamus in the study permit context. Lev was counsel in this case. The court ruled that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s delay in processing the application was unreasonable or unexplained. However, the mandamus application failed because the applicant did not demonstrate significant prejudice. Mandam ..read more

Section 34 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states:  34 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on security grounds for (a) engaging in an act of espionage that is against Canada or that is contrary to Canada’s interests; (b) engaging in or instigating the subversion by force of any government; (b.1) engaging in an act of subversion against a democratic government, institution or process as they are understood in Canada; (c) engaging in terrorism; (d) being a danger to the security of Canada; (e) engagin ..read more

An applicant checks their mail box.  There is a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.  Excited, they open the letter.  To their utter shock, the letter says that their application was rejected. They immediately think, “I should have told them about this special circumstance that just arose and this factor that I didn’t mention!” or “There’s a blatant mistake and a judicial review application isn’t an option!” They want to write the officer to ask them to reconsider the decision to refuse their application, but they doen’t know… can she even do that? The Doctr ..read more

On March 21, 2024, Marc Miller, Canada’s Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, alongside Randy Boissonnault, the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, held a press conference to announce what may be considered one of the most substantial changes to Canadian immigration law in years. Canada is set to implement a limit on the temporary residents. Canada’s immigration department has for the past several decades set limits on the number of new permanent residents admitted each year. Its detailed plans are publicly available on the Immigration, Refugees and Citize ..read more