Showing posts with label Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Show all posts

Bill C-35

Minister of the Economic Development Agency of...Image via WikipediaSome applicants may choose to use such a representative to act on their behalf with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), the Immigration and Refugee Board or the Canada Border Services Agency.  There are two types of immigration representatives: paid and unpaid.  Paid immigration representatives  Only the following people may charge a fee or receive any other type of consideration, to represent or advise you in connection with a Canadian immigration proceeding or application:  lawyers and paralegals who are members in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society Notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and Immigration consultants who are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council The Government of Canada will not deal with non-authorized immigration representatives who charge for their services.  NEW: Other people who offer paid immigration advice  With the coming into force of Bill C-35, anyone who provides paid advice prior to the filing of an application or the commencement of a proceeding will need to be an authorized representative. This means that some third parties who were not formerly required to be recognized to provide paid advice will now have to refer people to an authorized representative or become authorized themselves. Some examples of paid advice or representation that will now be captured through the implementation of Bill C-35 include:  representing the applicant during an immigration proceeding by speaking on their behalf. providing guidance to a client on how to select the best immigration stream and complete the appropriate forms. Unpaid immigration third parties  Unpaid third parties, such as family members, friends, non-governmental or religious organizations will still be allowed to act on your behalf.  To protect your privacy, CIC will not share any of your personal information with your consultant, lawyer, and other representative unless you provide your written consent using the Use of a Representative (IMM 5476) form.  Other people who offer immigration advice or assistance  People who provide immigration-related advice or assistance for a fee before the application is filed are not obliged to be authorized consultants. However, be aware that non-authorized consultants, lawyers, and other representatives or advisors are not regulated. This means that they may not have adequate knowledge or training. It also means that you cannot seek help from the professional bodies (that is, the law societies, ICCRC, etc.) if that person provides you with the wrong advice or behaves in an unprofessional way.

Immigration appeal process urged for rejected visitors

Immigrant visaImage by qousqous via Flickr
Nicholas Keung Immigration Reporter
Noel Goonesekera, a longtime Canadian citizen, was upset that immigration officials have rejected applications from his brother and niece to visit him from Sri Lanka for the summer. “They didn’t give any reason for the rejection,” said Goonesekera, 60, a Sinhalese, who immigrated here in 1991 and works in property management. “I just couldn’t see any logical reason why they would turn them down. My brother visited Niagara Falls long time ago. He and his daughter have no plan to stay here.” The Toronto man is not alone, as 20 per cent of the one million visitors’ visa applications received by Canadian visa posts yearly are refused for concerns over alleged fraud and misrepresentation by applicants, whom officials fear would remain in Canada upon arrival. However, legitimate applicants invited for important family functions such as weddings, funerals and baby showers in Canada are often rejected as well — and there is no recourse once an application is rejected. In fact, a negative decision makes the chances of success for future applications next to zero. The application costs $75 per person and is non-refundable. On Monday, New Democrat MP and immigration critic Olivia Chow (Trinity-Spadina) will table a private-member’s bill in the House of Commons to allow rejected applications to be reviewed and appealed, as is done in the United Kingdom and Australia. Chow said one-third of the immigration cases at her Toronto office involve visitors’ visa applications being rejected, sometimes in what she calls “arbitrary decision-making” by Canadian visa officers. Currently, there is no appeal for failed applicants from abroad. The proposed bill would ask the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to hear the appeals. “We hope to bring fairness and transparency to the system,” said Chow, who launched the group, Calling for Visitor Visa Fairness, on Facebook last year. It has about 450 members. In the U.K., rejected applicants can appeal — for free — first at their local missions before an ultimate review by an independent tribunal. In Australia, failed visitors pay $1,400 to appeal at a tribunal, but the money will be refunded in full if a decision is reversed. Although Chow’s bill still has to pass second reading for further reviews, Goonesekera hopes it will raise public awareness of the plight faced by Canada’s many immigrants, whose loved ones often live overseas. Goonesekera is filled with dread as he prepares for the guest list, including his brother Merrel, for his scheduled wedding next August. “Some of my guests may need a visa to come to Canada for the wedding,” he said. “I am keeping my fingers crossed.”
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Convention Refugee Claims in Canada

Canada imposes a visa on the Czech RepublicImage by Vlastula via Flickr
Proposed Changes Hope to Streamline Refugee Determination Process

Read more at Suite101: Convention Refugee Claims in Canada: Proposed Changes Hope to Streamline Refugee Determination Process http://news.suite101.com/article.cfm/convention-refugee-claims-in-canada-a220131#ixzz0jzCR1kuQ

On March 30, 2010, the government introduced Bill C-11 that will divide refugee claimants into two streams. The goal is to speed up both determinations and removals.

For years many Canadians including politicians have described Canada’s refugee system as broken. Since the current procedures were enacted in 1989, Bill C-11 constitutes the first major overhaul of Canada’s refugee determination process. The purpose of the bill is to vastly reduce the time that it takes to decide whether or not a claimant is a genuine refugee and to speed up removals of failed claimants.

Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney told the National Post editorial board that the proposed legislation is an attempt to stop the “gaming of the system” by which people come to Canada and make false refugee claims knowing that the longer they get to stay, the less likelihood they will ever be removed.
Canada’s Current Refugee Determination System

When a foreign national, either at a port of entry or within Canada tells an immigration officer that they want to make a refugee claim, they are given a form to fill out. The claimant then has 28 days to complete the form and file it with the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). After the form is received, a date for a hearing is scheduled to be heard before a member of the Refugee Protection Division of the IRB. Under existing legislation, members of the Refugee Protection Division are appointed for fixed terms by the government of the day.

After the matter is heard and a decision rendered the successful applicant, together with any accompanying spouse and dependants, can apply to become a permanent resident of Canada. Those who are unsuccessful do not have the right to appeal that decision but they can apply for leave to seek judicial review of that decision in the Federal Court of Canada. Failed refugee claimants who apply to Federal Court do not automatically have the right to remain in Canada; however an application can be made to a justice of the Federal Court to stay the removal order until such time as that court decides the matter.

Currently, the average time between a person’s initial claim to be a Convention refugee and the time a determination is made is 19 months. The time that it now takes to remove a failed refugee claimant from Canada is close to five years after their initial claim is made.

The Refugee Protection Division currently has a backlog of 60,000 cases that are scheduled to be heard. Part of the backlog is due the reluctance of the current Conservative government to fill vacant positions on the board.

At the present time there are about 15,000 failed claimants who are waiting to be removed from Canada. It is also estimated that there are 38,000 unsuccessful refugee applicants whose whereabouts are unknown. It is not known whether they have left Canada or remain underground.
The Balanced Refugee Reform Act

Bill C-11 or the Balanced Refugee Reform Act as it will be known if passed will require refugee claimants to be interviewed by an immigration officer within eight days of making their claim. This replaces filling out a form and filing it within 28 days. If the claimant is found by the officer to be eligible to make a refugee claim, the matter will be set down for a hearing before the Refugee Protection Division within 60 days. The proposed legislation will replace government-appointed fixed term members on the board with career public servants.

The most controversial aspect of Bill C-11 is that refugee claimants will be divided into two different streams. The government will be able to designate certain countries as being “safe”. These safe countries will be those that are democratic, seen to have good human rights records, and be characterized as non-refugee producing countries. Examples of countries that the government would designate would be the United States and European Union countries.

Claimants who come from designated safe countries will not be able to appeal negative decisions of the Refugee Protection Division. Other claimants will be able, for the first time, to appeal to the newly created Refugee Appeal Division. The appeal will be based on the record of the Refugee Protection Division and the only evidence that will be allowed will be new evidence of events that happened after the initial hearing.

Failed claimants will still be able to apply for leave for judicial review in Federal Court of their final Immigration and Refugee Board decision. To that end, the bill will increase the number of justices who sit on the Federal Court of Canada.
Criticism of the Proposed Legislation

Although many applaud the government’s attempt to streamline the system; to remove failed claimants more quickly as well as grant speedier landing to those found to be refugees, there has been vocal criticism of some of the bill’s provisions. The main criticism is of the ability of Canada to designate some countries as safe. Many refugee advocates and lawyers feel that each person’s case should be determined solely on its own merits, equally and not according to their country of origin. The two streams could result in unfair hearings to those who have claims from countries that are already presumed not to produce genuine refugees.

Another complaint is that the time periods involved; eight days to be interviewed and another 60 days for the hearing will not allow the claimant sufficient time to obtain competent counsel to assist them and to adequately prepare for the hearing.

It is estimated that, if enacted, the legislation will cost taxpayers $540 million over five years.

Sources:

National Post
The copyright of the article Convention Refugee Claims in Canada in Law, Crime & Justice is owned by Arthur Weinreb. Permission to republish Convention Refugee Claims in Canada in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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