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Corporate Immigration Law Firm is experienced in advising employers and foreign nationals on immigration issues. This year we were once again named one of Canada’s top 10 boutique immigration firms by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Contact one of our immigration lawyers today for assistance.

The OINP Employer Job Offer streams are employer-driven, meaning that the employer must meet certain eligibility criteria. They are:

• Must have been in active business for at least three years
• Must have at least $1 million in gross annual revenue in the last fiscal year ($500,000 if the location of employment is outside the GTA)
• Must have at least five full-time employees who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents at the foreign national’s work location (three if the location of employment is outside the GTA)

There is an Employer Job Offer stream for foreign workers with at least two years of related work experience in their current occupation, and one for new graduates who have completed postsecondary education in Canada within the last two years. Neither have minimum language requirements which is hugely helpful for candidates with weaker language skills.

The Employer Job Offer streams are subject to annual quotas and have remained closed since September 23, 2019 due to high demand. The streams were also closed from April 27 to August 27, 2019, again due to processing volumes. They are expected to reopen in early 2020. We strongly recommend that employers prepare their applications in advance so that they can be submitted as soon as the program reopens, as there is no way to know how long the streams will remain open before they are closed again.

The OINP also has three Ontario’s Express Entry streams, which are designed for individuals with a valid Express Entry profile but a score that is not high enough to receive an invitation to apply. These streams have remained open throughout the year. From time to time, OINP will issue Notifications of Interest (NOI) to Express Entry candidates inviting them to apply for a nomination certificate. The nomination certificate is worth an extra 600 points, so the candidate is essentially guaranteed an invitation to apply for permanent residence through Express Entry. It is worth noting, however, that since January 1, 2019 OINP has only issued five rounds of NOIs, and four of them targeted specific occupations (technology professionals and certain financial and administrative professionals). No candidates with CRS scores below 435 were considered. This is less than ideal news for individuals with scores in the low 400s. As of November 23, 2019, there were 133,848 active Express Entry profiles in the pool. Of these, 58,138 had scores at or under 430. These numbers confirm that there is a huge interest in Canada and there are very qualified candidates for permanent residence from all over the world in the pool. It was not very long ago that a score of 430 was enough to receive an invitation to apply for permanent residence. This is no longer the case and more and more employers are finding that they have employees who are having difficulty receiving an invitation. We believe that this will result in even greater demand for the OINP streams.

We believe it is a good practice for employers hiring foreign nationals to ensure there is a permanent residence strategy in place at the beginning of the employment relationship. The absence of such a strategy could result in costly and time-consuming extension applications or even business disruption, should the employee be unable to secure an extension of his/her work permit.

Corporate Immigration Law Firm – is experienced in advising employers and foreign nationals on immigration issues. This year we were once again named one of Canada’s top 10 boutique immigration firms by Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Contact one of our immigration lawyers today for assistance.

New permanent residents are always required to declare their spouse, common-law partner and dependent children, even if those family members are not planning to join them in Canada. All family members must be examined. Failure to declare a family member before landing as a permanent resident has long meant a lifetime ban on sponsoring that person for status in Canada (s. 117(9)(d) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations).

The ban is aimed at maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration system and preventing fraud. However, applicants sometimes fail to declare not due to malicious intent, but rather due to lack of understanding of the law or bad advice.

While the law has not changed, the Federal government has recently acknowledged that the lifetime ban poses disproportionate hardship in some cases, particularly where children are involved. A new pilot program will allow Canadian citizens and permanent residents who obtained their own status through the refugee program or family sponsorship to sponsor undeclared family members. Sponsored family members must still meet other admissibility requirements for admission to Canada.

Because of the strict eligibility requirements, the pilot program will directly apply to only a limited number of applicants. That said, IRCC’s recognition of the hardship that results from s. 117(9)(d) is a welcome development. It may signal an openness to consider humanitarian and compassionate reasons to overcome the ban in other situations not covered by the pilot program.

If you would like more information or clarification on how the pilot program might affect you or your family, contact a member of the professional team at CILF.

The Entry/Exit Program is a significant development that has been many years in the making. Part of the Beyond the Border Action Plan, it is a joint Canada-U.S. initiative that establishes a coordinated entry/exit information system to facilitate the exchange of traveller biographic information (such as name and date of birth). Collected upon entry at the common land border, a record of entry into one country is now considered a record of exit from the other. In addition to the exchange of this data with the U.S. at land borders, the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”) will collect exit data on all travellers leaving by air. Air carriers will begin sharing their data in 2020 and 2021. Consequently, overstay indicators will not begin appearing within the entry/exit search results for temporary residents who have overstayed their allowable time in Canada until the air carrier information is shared.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) will be able to obtain accurate and objective entry and exit information directly from CBSA to support the administration of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”), the Citizenship Act and the Canadian Passport Order.

Some intended uses for this information by IRCC will include:

• Verifying residency requirements to objectively confirm the information provided by the applicant, such as applications for grants of citizenship or permanent resident cards;
• Verifying if a temporary resident applicant may have previously overstayed their allowable period of admission in Canada;
• Assisting in an investigation into an individual’s entitlement to a Canadian travel document;
• Verifying that sponsors are residing in Canada;
• Verifying residence of spouses and partners under the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class;
• Verifying whether a refugee claimant entered Canada using their travel documents; and
• Supporting investigations into possible fraud in relation to immigration, citizenship and passport and travel programs.

There is absolutely no doubt that this information will lead to more enforcement activity by IRCC and CBSA, with respect to immigration applications and immigration status of individuals in Canada. Given the significant implications for Canadian citizens, permanent residents and temporary residents, the public needs to be aware of such implications before filing immigration or citizenship applications to ensure they are diligent in providing accurate information on their application. Discrepancies, even if a genuine oversight, could be considered a misrepresentation under either IRPA or the Citizenship Act and result in significant consequences to the applicant. If an applicant is found to have misrepresented, not only will their application be refused but they could be subject to a five-year ban from making a subsequent application under IRPA or enforcement proceedings under IRPA or the Citizenship Act.

Travellers have the right to request a copy of their personal travel history through the Privacy Act and if there are discrepancies, they may bring corrections to the attention of CBSA. IRCC officers are notified of requested corrections and can re-query the CBSA’s database to obtain the most up-to-date information.

At this time, the entry/exit information will be used exclusively for all lines of business under immigration, citizenship and investigations. However, it is not hard to imagine that in the future this information could be used by other government departments including Canada Revenue Agency to verify residence, or by provincial governments to verify continued eligibility for public health insurance.

Gone are the days of an honour system and best efforts to recollect travel dates. The public needs to be forewarned and prepared when making any application to the Canadian government with respect to immigration or citizenship matters. Since the consequences are dire, routine applications to renew permanent resident cards or applying for Canadian citizenship must be taken seriously. Proper and accurate travel records must be kept including documentation to substantiate travel outside Canada, in the form of boarding passes, passport stamps and travel itineraries. This task has become more challenging due to paperless initiatives, including individuals using their mobile devices to receive boarding passes and CBSA moving away from the policy of stamping passports on entry and instead only scanning passports. The travelling public is therefore left in the dark without documentation to substantiate their best recollection.

Don’t be caught unaware, contact one of the lawyers at Corporate Immigration Law Firm for assistance with Canadian immigration and citizenship matters.

Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders

Congratulations to Barbara Jo Caruso and Joel S. Guberman of Corporate Immigration Law Firm – Caruso Guberman Appleby who have been selected by Who’s Who Legal as THOUGHT LEADERS CORPORATE IMMIGRATION 2019. This honour is very exciting  as the publication brings together “…for the first time the insight, expertise and wisdom of some of the world’s foremost corporate immigration lawyers in a single book”. Included in the book are those that the market identifies “…as being amongst the very best in the world in their field, without exception”.

The inaugural edition of Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leader – Corporate Immigration 2019 features only 10 Canadians – and we are thrilled that Barbara Jo and Joel are included amongst this prestigious group, in addition to being the only firm with 2 lawyers noted.

Corporate Immigration Law Firm – Caruso Guberman Appleby is a Top Ten Immigration Boutique Law Firm as recognized by Canadian Lawyer magazine, with many of our lawyers recognized in Who’s Who Legal: Corporate Immigration year after year. We can be reached at 416-368-1111 or info@cilf.ca for all your immigration law needs.