Canadian Immigration law

Immigration law deals with national statutes, regulations and legal precedents governing immigration into and deportation from a country.

As per Merriam Webster dictionary, emigration refers to departure from a place of abode, natural home, or country for life or residence elsewhere.

Canadian immigration law deals with law related to entry of foreign nationals into Canada, their rights and duties once they are admitted, and conditions of their removal. According to the Wikipedia, Immigration to Canada is the procedure by which people migrate to Canada for the purpose of residing and settling there and where majority go on to become Canadian citizens. As of 2019, Canada has the eighth largest emigrant populations in the world, while foreigners make up about one-fifth (21% in 2019) of Canada’s population- one of the highest ratios for industrialised western countries.

Legislations governing Immigration law of Canada

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act is an Act of the Parliament of Canada, administered by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that replaced the Immigration Act,1976 in 2002 as the primary federal legislation concerning Immigration to Canada.

According to the 2019, Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, Immigrants are divided into four categories

1. Family: persons closely related to one or more Canadian residents who live in Canada.
2. Economic: skilled workers, caregivers or business persons.
3. Protected Person or refugee: persons who are escaping persecution, torture, and/or cruel and unusual punishment.
4. Humanitarian or other: person accepted as immigrants for humanitarian or compassionate reasons.

 

 

 

 

Eligibility for becoming a Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada

 

In order to be a citizen of Canada, an individual has to satisfy the following requirements:

 

1. Must be a permanent resident;
2. Must be physically present in Canada for at least 1095 days (3 years) during the five years before the date you sign your application;
3. Has paid taxes during a period of 3 years out of five years if you need to;
4. Pass Citizenship test;
5. An individual has to pass the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB) Level 4 or higher i.e. he has to show sufficient proficiency in English and French language which are the official languages of Canada;
6. The individual is not subject to any criminal prohibitions;
7. Is not a war criminal

It is important to mention here that you don’t become a citizen of Canada even if you marry a Canadian citizen which means that if you are a spouse of Canadian citizen you have to meet the eligibility criteria as mentioned above.

 

Modes of acquiring Canadian Citizenship

The Canadian Citizenship Act R.S.C., 1985, c. C-29, determines the criteria for becoming the citizen of Canada. The said Act has undergone several amendments in 2007,2009,2015 and 2017.There are four ways in which an individual can become a Citizenship of Canada:

1. By birth on Canadian soil;
2. By descent (being born to a Canadian parent);
3. By grant (naturalization); and
4. By adoption

The Canada recognizes Multiple citizenships which means that you can be the citizen of more than one country apart from being a citizen of Canada and you don’t have to renounce the citizenship of your previous country.

 

 

 

Advantages of getting Canadian Citizenship

1. By getting the Canadian citizenship an individual can vote in federal, municipal and provincial elections.
2. An individual can enjoy the benefit of dual citizenship
3. The individual can get a government job in Canada.
4. If you are a citizen and resident of Canada then you have to pay the taxes to the Canadian Government meaning thereby that the tax liability in Canada is dependent on residence rather than citizenship.

 

Prohibitions concerning grant of Canadian Citizenship

Any person or individual cannot become a citizen of Canada if he meets any of the disqualifications:

1. If he is serving a term of imprisonment, parole or probation;
2. If that person is serving a sentence outside Canada;
3. If any removal order is passed against that person under Section 10.5 of the Canadian Citizenship Act;
4. If an individual application for citizenship is refused due to misrepresentation during past five years.
5. Being a Permanent Resident if an individual is convicted of terrorism, high treason, or spying offences or if any individual has served as a member of an armed force of a country or territory, or an organized armed group, that’s engaged in armed conflict with Canada.

 

Qualifications for getting Skilled Worker Immigration

 

On January 1,2015 the Government of Canada introduced the Express Entry Immigration System under the Economic Class including the Federal Skilled Worker Programme under which Federal Skilled Workers across 347 eligible occupations who meet the desired entry criteria submit their profile to the Express Entry Pool. The profiles of candidates in the category are ranked under a Comprehensive Ranking System. The candidate who rank high will be considered for an invitation to apply for permanent residence. The candidates receiving an invitation must submit an application within a period of 90 days.

 

Federal Skilled Workers are individuals with suitable education, work experience, age and language abilities under one of Canada’s official languages and who are selected under the Express Entry Immigration system to apply for permanent residence.
In order to get eligible for an admission to the Express Entry Pool as a Federal Skilled Worker, applicants must meet the following conditions:

Essential Conditions:

1. Possess one-year of continuous full-time paid work experience or the equivalent in part-time continuous employment within the previous 10 years in one of 347 eligible occupations listed under the applicable National Occupational Classification system; AND
2. The work experience must be classified within Skill Type 0 (Managerial Occupations), Skill Level A (Professional Occupations), or Skill Level B (Technical Occupations and Skilled Trades) within the meaning of the National Occupational Classification system; AND
3. Score sufficient points under skilled worker point grid consisting of six selection factors. The current pass mark is 67 points;
4. Undergo language testing from a recognized third party and demonstrate intermediate level language skills in English or French corresponding to the Canadian Language Benchmark of 7)
5. Possess suitable settlement funding;
6. Undergo a successful security background and medical examination.

Qualified applicants are evaluated against six factors to determine their eligibility for immigration to Canada. Applicants must obtain a total of 67 points out of a possible 100 in order to qualify. The selection factors are:

• Education; (25 points)
• Language; (28 points)
• Employment experience;(15 points)
• Age;( 12 points)
• Arranged employment; (10 points)
• Adaptability; (10 points)

The new program seeks to select candidates with the highest probability of economic settlement success and contribution to Canada.

 

Reasons for Rejection of Canadian Permanent Resident Visa

1. If the applicant while submitting an application for Permanent Resident Visa misunderstands a question on a form or omits to provides information in a form or fills it incorrectly.
2. If the applicant is suffering from Diabetes or Hepatitis his application for Permanent Residency is liable to be rejected as he or she poses a potential burden on Canada’s universal healthcare system.
3. If the applicant’s criminal verification in the country where he originally resided turns out against his favour his application is liable to be rejected.
4. If the applicant misses the deadline for submitting an application for getting the Permanent Visa.
5. If the applicant fails to attach the relevant documents and the tracking number provided by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).
6. If the applicant applies without knowing the eligibility conditions
7. If after rejection of the application, the applicant neglects to take the services of Immigration attorney as his services are very important as he can submit the case of the applicant to CIC for reconsideration.

 

 

Note:- The readers may verify the facts at their own level also and the author of this article holds no  responsibility for any changes.