Ziaie Law: News

Choosing An Immigration Representative

31/1/2019

Last week I wrote about your responsibilities when dealing with Immigration and Citizenship officials, particularly if you are dealing with them directly as a self-represented applicant. However, in many circumstances you may choose to have an representative to assist you with your immigration or citizenship matter.

The Canadian immigration and citizenship system is complicated and constantly changing. Each case is unique and the way in which laws and regulations apply to your case may be different than the case of other family members or friends. The difficulties in immigration applications are compounded by the fact that most applicants are not native English speakers. Unfortunately, there are many instances of fraud and scams that are perpetuated against those interested in coming to Canada either on a temporary basis as visitors, students or workers, or those interested in becoming immigrants.

Therefore, choosing a representative that can advise you and represent you competently is one of the most important decisions you can make in helping you navigate the immigration system and preventing mistakes that can lead to delays or the refusal of your application. Having a professional that is legally permitted to represent will mean that the representative has to meet regulatory requirements with regards to competence and ethics and if there are any problems you may have recourse to follow up your case.

Who Can Legally Represent
Any person that receives compensation from you in exchange for providing you with immigration advice or assisting you with your application must be declared in your immigration application as a “Paid Representative”. There are a limited group of professionals that are legally permitted to advise you in immigration matters and to prepare and submit applications on your behalf to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). These professionals are:

Lawyers who are members of the law societies in the provinces of Canada (and licenced notaries in the province of Quebec)
Immigration consultants that are members of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC)
In some instances, licenced Paralegals that are members of the Ontario law society

Canadian lawyers are permitted to represent you in all immigration matters including all levels of court and all types of immigration and citizenship applications. Immigration Consultants and licenced paralegals may also represent you in most immigration matters excluding appeals before the federal court of Canada. You can check whether a professional is licenced and is permitted to practice in one of these categories by checking the relevant website (in Ontario: www.lsuc.on.ca/find-a-lawyer-or-paralegal or www.iccrc-crcic.ca).

No other person or entity is permitted to represent immigrants or provide immigration related advice. There are unfortunately individuals and businesses that claim to provide immigration services without any of the safeguards that are in place for lawyers and immigration consultants. For example, unauthorized representatives (also referred to as “ghost consultants”) submit applications with your own name and contact information, without any mention of their role in preparing your application.

I have seen countless cases where ghost representatives have provided false information and even fraudulent documents resulting in refusals and findings of misrepresentation for their innocent clients. You should be aware that you are always responsible for all information and documents submitted to IRCC on your behalf and choosing a representative that is competent and ethical can make all the difference.

5 Tips In Choosing Your Immigration Representative

Ask for recommendations and check online reviews – before choosing a representative try to get recommendations from people that you trust. You can also try to search the name of the potential representatives online to see if there are any online reviews or information from past clients.
Ask about the representatives credentials and experience – when meeting with potential representatives make sure to ask about their credentials and specific experience in dealing with similar cases.
Discuss the services they will provide and negotiate the legal fee – make sure to understand what the process will include and the services that will be provided (as well as those that are excluded). You should also discuss the legal and government fees involved in your application upfront to avoid misunderstandings during the process.
Have a written contract with your representative – make sure to get the details of the services and fees in a written contract from your representative. Keep the signed contract in a safe place and if it includes milestones for the services to be provided make sure that you refer to it regularly to ensure that your application is proceeding as scheduled.
Protect yourself from fraud by choosing a representative that will represent you ethically – be weary if a representative invites you to take shortcuts as promises that sound too good too be true often are impossible to fulfil. Further you should never agree to provide false documents or information to IRCC as it is against the law and can result in you being denied entry to Canada.

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Your Responsibilities When Dealing with Immigration and Citizenship Officials

24/1/2019

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The visa, immigration and citizenship laws and procedures of Canada are complex. There are forms, guides, laws, regulations, manuals and so much more to consider when understanding how any particular type of application can be prepared or submitted. However, there are few guidelines for you when you want to know how you should interact with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and what your responsibilities and rights when dealing with IRCC.

Below are the top 4 tips to help you when interacting with IRCC:

1. Always provide honest and accurate information
Honesty is always the best policy. It is a serious crime to lie or provide false information or documents IRCC. It is your duty to ensure that you provide truthful, accurate and complete information when submitting any kind of application to IRCC. Providing false, inaccurate or incomplete information is a form of fraud and is called “misrepresentation”.

Misrepresentation can take different forms. For example, misrepresentation can be when someone provides wrong work history dates, or even forgets to provide information of on previous refusals from 10 years ago. In more serious cases it involves providing fraudulent or altered documents. The consequence of a finding of misrepresentation are very severe: you may be forbidden from coming to Canada for at least 5 years, may lose your permanent residence or Canadian citizenship, may be charged with a crime and may be removed from Canada.

The important thing to keep in mind is that it does not make a difference if you provided the false information or documents yourself or someone provided them on your behalf. You are responsible for your application, even if you have a representative or someone who helps you prepare the application. Unfortunately, I have been increasingly contacted by people who have applied for Canadian visas with the help of agencies or other unauthorized representatives but then found out that they are now inadmissible to Canada because of misrepresentation in their application.

So whether you are applying yourself or using the services of a representative make sure that you check every single answer and document before you submit your application.

2.Record keeping
One tool that will be extremely helpful to ensure you are able to provide honest and accurate disclosure is to keep copies of all your forms and documents that you provide for future reference. It is difficult to remember details of your application if you do not have a copy of it and without a track record you may inadvertently make a mistake in future applications. IRCC keeps copies of all your applications and so you should also keep print or electronic copies of all your applications as well.

3. Know the Law - Ignorance is not an excuse
Ignorance of the law is not an acceptable excuse. Make sure that you fully understand the law and requirements before you submit an application or undertake any course of action. The excuse that you did not know the law will not help you when IRCC determines that have acted illegally. An example is the length of time you are permitted to remain in Canada with a visitor visa or the limitations on the amount of time you may work while you are a student. Make sure you understand the legal requirements and if necessary seek out professional legal advice.

And remember that while friends and family may have the best of intentions their advice and experiences in dealing with a situation will not necessarily apply to your case and may land you in trouble if you do not verify the information yourself or with a professional.

4. Make sure you are dealing with Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC)
Be very careful of scams and sources of information that are not directly from the government or licenced legal professionals. Unfortunately, there are many scams that try to either get money from you or steal your information and identity.

Here are some important things to help guide you if you think you may be facing a scam:

No one can guarantee you a job or a visa to Canada
Only immigration officers can decide to issue a visa
Processing fees are the same for all of our services in Canada and around the world. Fees in local currencies are based on official exchange rates. They are the same amount as fees in Canadian dollars.
IRCC will never ask you to deposit money into a personal bank account, transfer money through private money transfer service, threaten you or offer special deals to people who want to immigrate
IRCC never uses free email services, such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo Mail to contact you
IRCC never calls people to demand payment by telephone

In addition, you should be very careful of scams asking for details of your credit card, bank account, passport number or social insurance number. If you are the victim of a scam you can report the information to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre but unfortunately your information and money are likely gone forever.

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Details Unveiled for 2019’s Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program

17/1/2019

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The wait is over and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has finally released details of the much-anticipated reopening of the Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship (PGP) program for 2019.

One of the ways in which Canadian permanent residents and citizens can be reunited with their parents or grandparents permanently in Canada is through the PGP sponsorship program. IRCC has announced a quota of 20,000 PGP applications for 2019, double the quota of previous years. More importantly there are significant changes in the way you can submit an application in 2019. In the past two years the PGP has operated on a lottery basis but a new, first-come basis system is going to be used in 2019. In previous years up to 100,000 families registered for the lottery so I expect that there will a lot more families interested in applying than 20,000 and if you plan to submit an application you must prepare quickly and carefully.

Registration Process
Registration is set to open on 28 January 2019 at noon Eastern Standard Time. Registration will be online and you will be submitting an “interest to sponsor” form. The process will require information about yourself, your parents or grandparents and most importantly your income and information about your family unit. Your eligibility to sponsor is based on you having sufficient income in your last three years of income based on your family size and the number of people you are sponsoring. You should also note that the PGP is only for those who are living in Canada to sponsor their parents or grandparents and cannot be used if you are a permanent residents or citizens living outside of Canada.

You may submit your online registration yourself or retain a lawyer to undertake the process for you. If you are registering yourself make sure you do not submit duplicate entries as these will be removed from the system. The system will likely be overrun with requests on the first day, nevertheless, I highly recommend that you try to submit your application on the first day.

Confirmation Number
After you successfully submit the interest to sponsor form you will be given a “confirmation number”. The system should also send an email to the email address that you provide to confirm your registration. In the weeks after the registration you should be on the lookout to receive an email from IRCC if you are one of the first 20,000 registrants and are invited to submit a complete application.

Submitting a Complete Application
If you are lucky enough to receive an invitation to submit your sponsorship application you will have a short window in which to gather all of your documents, complete all the forms and submit the complete submission application along with the necessary application fees (determined by the number of people you are sponsoring). These include key documents such as identity documents for yourself and your parents and grandparents, your proof of income, and original police clearances for your parents and grandparents. Any documents that are not in English or French must be officially translated as per the requirements of IRCC.

The deadline for submission of your complete application is a strict deadline and extensions are not granted. Furthermore, it is critical that your application is complete and includes all the information and requested documents, including any country-specific documents. If you make a mistake or a document is missing, your complete application may be returned to you and you will not be able to resubmit the application in 2019.

Determining Eligibility
Are you sure that you qualify to sponsor your parents? Do your parents have young dependent children that may be eligible to join your parents? Has your family size changed in the past three years and you are unsure of how much income you need to sponsor? The good news is that you still have time to contact an experienced immigration lawyer to assess your situation and ensure that you are eligible to apply before the registration begins on 28 January 2019.

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Realizing the Canadian Dream - Federal Government Increasing Funding for Immigrants to Connect with Canadian Job Market

9/1/2019

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Canada’s immigration policies in attracting skilled workers over the past four decades have created a workforce that is highly educated. In fact, Canada currently ranks second in the world as approximately 60% of adults hold college or university degrees. In addition to the education opportunities available to Canadians this percentage is driven by the large percentage of educated skilled worker immigrants and their children who focus on education.

However, one of the challenges that Canada continues to face is matching the talent of new immigrants with the requirements of employers in the job market. Immigrants on average face a lower employment rate than their Canadian born counterparts and many professionals are unable to find work in their area of specialization. The introduction of the Express Entry system and reworking of the skilled worker programs has helped to alleviate this problem by selecting immigrants that already have either “Canadian Education” or “Canadian Work Experience”.

As more baby-boomers retire, Canada is facing record low unemployment numbers. According a recent Statistics Canada study, unemployment in working-age Canadians is approximately 5% and is just over 6% for immigrants. The good news is that as a result of these efforts, the employment gap between immigrants and Canadian-born workers is narrowing. However, as more baby-boomers are set to retire in the decade ahead, there is a large gap that must be filled by new immigrants.

The federal government announced last week that it is boosting funding for pre-arrival settlement services for new immigrants so that they will be job ready as soon as they become permanent residents. This includes $113 million that is being given to 16 organizations to provide immigration and settlement support to immigrants selected for immigration over the course of the next 4 years. The aim is that these organizations will connect with immigrants before their arrival in Canada to provide occupation-specific employment services to ensure that they have the best job prospects upon arrival in Canada. This includes assistance and guidance in applying for professional qualifications or valuable skill training.

The effect of this additional funding for immigrants is also positive in terms of attracting talented skilled workers across the globe to choose Canada instead of other potential destinations. In the same study Statistics Canada noted that while 59,000 native Canadians entered the workforce in 2017, almost 90,000 immigrants entered the workforce during the same time period. Therefore, it is clear that Canada is becoming increasingly dependent on immigrant skilled workers to meet its labour market needs. One of the ways in which Canada can compete with other countries for the available skilled workers looking to settle in a new country is by providing those who choose to come to Canada with assurance that they will be able to quickly enter the labour force and fulfill their potential in an accepting and prosperous country.

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NEWS

Choosing An Immigration Representative

Your Responsibilities When Dealing with Immigration and Citizenship Officials

Details Unveiled for 2019’s Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program

Realizing the Canadian Dream - Federal Government Increasing Funding for Immigrants to Connect with Canadian Job Market

Authors:
Zeynab Ziaie
Zahra Ziaie

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Categories

NEWS

Choosing An Immigration Representative

Your Responsibilities When Dealing with Immigration and Citizenship Officials

Details Unveiled for 2019’s Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program

Realizing the Canadian Dream - Federal Government Increasing Funding for Immigrants to Connect with Canadian Job Market

Authors: Zeynab Ziaie Zahra Ziaie

Archives

Categories

Authors:
Zeynab Ziaie
Zahra Ziaie