Change in Marital Status During the Canadian Immigration Application Process
February 27, 2008
It is very important to remember that if a person who has applied alone for Canadian permanent resident status gets married or has lived with a partner for twelve consecutive months before becoming a permanent resident of Canada, then the potential Canadian immigrant MUST advise the visa post of the change in marital status prior to landing in Canada. It is not an option as those applying for immigration to Canada must confirm their marital status on the day they land in Canada. If someone lands as a single person when in fact they are married or have a common-law partner, they risk losing their Canadian permanent resident status in the future, especially if they attempt to then sponsor their spouse or common-law partner for Canadian Immigration.
Permanent Residence Card Renewals
February 22, 2008
Now that it has been over five years since the new Regulations for Canadian immigration were introduced, many permanent residents find it necessary to apply to renew their Canadian permanent resident cards. The volume of these applications submitted to the Sydney Case Processing Centre has greatly increased, from 150 applications per week back in April of 2007 to 1900 applications per week as of January 2008. Persons who need to extend their permanent resident cards should allow at least seventy days for the issuance of the new cards.
Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.
Canadian/US Refugee Claims On Hold
February 14, 2008
The Canadian government is appealing a recent Federal Court of Canada decision concerning the ability of refugee claimants already in the USA to commence refugee claims in Canada. As a result of a stay of the decision pending the outcome of the appeal, persons currently in the USA are prohibited from commencing refugee claims in Canada. The Canadian and American governments passed legislation preventing persons in one of the two countries from applying for refugee status in the other, believing that the legislation would prevent an abuse of the refugee system. Opponents of the legislation in Canada seek to enable persons who are in the USA or whose refugee claim in the USA has been refused, to commence a refugee claim in Canada. The Federal Court of Appeal has a thorny issue to resolve as it will have great implications on Canadian immigration procedure.
Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.
Study Permits and Postgraduate Work Permits
February 11, 2008
Persons who have studied in Canada with a valid study permit may apply for a postgraduate work permit following the completion of their course of study. Those people who have attended postsecondary institutions outside of the Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver areas who intend to work outside of those areas can obtain postgraduate work permits for a two year period of time. Persons who have studied in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver or who intend to work in one of those cities can obtain postgraduate work permits for a one year period of time. Prior to the expiration of the postgraduate work permit, a person would require a labour market opinion from Human Resources Skills Development Canada before being able to extend the work permit.
Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.
Immigration and Language Proficiency
February 7, 2008
Prior to June 2002, a Canadian immigration applicant’s language ability was assessed at an interview with a visa officer. Now under the current Regulations, an applicant for immigration to Canada can submit evidence of English language ability with results from the IELTS examination; and evidence of French language ability with results from the TEF examination. Often, clients choose to submit alternate evidence of their language ability, which our firm strongly discourages. If a visa officer at the Canadian Consulate cannot assign full marks for English or French based on the alternate evidence submitted, a request for IELTS or TEF will be made to give the Canadian immigration applicant the opportunity to submit the test results. However, other visa offices may render a decision based on the alternate evidence provided, without giving the opportunity to provide IELTS or TEF results, which could result in the refusal of the application. For this reason, Abrams & Krochak strongly advises its Canada immigration clients to submit IELTS or TEF results when required to do so and not to submit alternate evidence of language proficiency.
Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.
Provincial Nominee Program vs Federal Applications
February 2, 2008
Submitting a Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) application for permanent residence in Canada is certainly a faster way of obtaining one’s permanent resident status. We receive many inquiries from potential Canadian immigrants who are eligible to apply in the Federal program but who wish their applications fast tracked using a PNP. Unless an applicant meets the PNP requirements, however, it is recommended that the Federal application be submitted. Should a person applying for Canadian immigration who has submitted a federal application later meet the PNP requirements, it may be possible to apply the government fees previously paid for the federal application to the new PNP, provided that no assessment has yet occurred in the Federal application. By submitting the Federal application right away, a person seeking to become a Canadian immigrant has the security of knowing that his application is in process and that he or she will not be losing time by delaying filing the application , hoping to meet the PNP requirements in the future.
Immigrating to Canada? Visit www.akcanada.com for more information or a free assessment.