Parents and Grandparents: NOT WELCOME TO IMMIGRATE (For now)

Effective November 5, 2011, a temporary pause has been placed on new Family Class sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents (FC4). Instructions are provided on what to do with FC4 sponsorship applications received before and after this date.

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides guidance on FC4 sponsorship applications and the fourth set of Ministerial Instructions (MI-4) which come into force November 5, 2011.

Background

On June 18, 2008, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act was amended to give the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration authority to issue instructions that would ensure the processing of applications and requests be conducted in a manner that, in the opinion of the Minister, will best support the attainment of immigration goals set by the Government of Canada.
The MI-4 comes into force on November 5, 2011 and includes changes to the following programs:

• Family Class Sponsorship Applications: A temporary pause on new sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents.
• Federal Skilled Worker Program: Introduction of a new PhD eligibility stream (see OB 351 for more information).

The full text of these instructions can be found at:
www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2011/2011-11-05/html/notice-avis-eng.html#d108

Processing Instructions

Effective November 5, 2011, no new family class sponsorship applications for a sponsor’s parents (R117(1)(c)) or grandparents (R117(1)(d)) will be accepted for processing. This temporary pause is being implemented to allow for application backlog reduction in the FC4 category to begin in 2012. This measure is being implemented as part of a broader strategy to address the large backlog and wait times in the FC4 category, supporting the attainment of immigration goals set by the Government of Canada.
The temporary pause will remain in place for up to 24 months while a more responsive, sustainable, and long-term approach for the program is being considered.
It does not affect sponsorship applications for spouses, partners, dependent or adopted children and other eligible relatives.
Applications received on or after November 5, 2011
New FC4 Sponsorship applications for parents or grandparents received by Centralized Processing Centre- Mississauga (CPC-M) on or after November 5, 2011, will be returned to the sponsor with a letter (see Appendix A) advising them of the temporary pause. Applications which are postmarked before November 5, 2011, but are received at CPC-M on or after November 5, 2011 will also be returned to the sponsor. In both cases, processing fees shall be returned.
Applications received before November 5, 2011
Complete FC4 sponsorship applications received by CPC-M prior to close of business (5 p.m. EST) on November 4, 2011, should continue to be processed as usual. Cases where FC4 sponsorship applications have been submitted to CPC-M, but the applications for permanent residence have not yet been submitted to the visa office are not affected by the temporary pause.
Cost recovery fee payment made before November 5, 2011
In cases where an applicant has submitted their cost recovery fee payment but CPC-M has not received the FC4 sponsorship application before close of business (5 p.m. EST) on November 4, 2011, the applicant will receive a refund of the processing fees.
Humanitarian and Compassionate Requests
Requests made on the basis of Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds made from outside Canada that accompany any permanent resident application affected by Ministerial Instructions but not identified for processing under the Instructions will not be processed.
Updates to the IP 2 manual are forthcoming.
For further information outlined in this OB, please contact your supervisor or your Regional Program Advisor (RPA). RPAs may in turn contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch at OMC-GOC-Immigration@cic.gc.ca.

Genuine Marriages: Documenting your Relationship

I could open this article by quoting from one of the thousands of love songs purporting to ask or answer a question about genuine love. Instead, since this is an immigration law column, I’ll try to put it in simplified legalese. A person intending to immigrate to Canada as sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident spouse will not qualify for immigration if the underlying relationship is not genuine and was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring status in Canada. Simpler yet, fake marriages don’t cut it and Citizenship and Immigration Canada is on the lookout.


Under Canadian immigration laws, Canadian citizens and permanent residents may sponsor their husband or wife, common-law partner or conjugal partner. A successful and thorough sponsorship application will land your better half in Canada relatively quickly, as compared to other types of immigration applications. At the same time, a flawed incomplete application can keep genuine spouses apart for an indefinite amount of time.

Aside from the many forms, police record checks and medical testing that an applicant must endure, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has made it a priority to keep fake marriages out of Canada. These regulations have been strengthened over the years to combat the high number of fraudulent cases, also known as marriages of convenience. As a consequence of these regulations, many applications based on genuine relationships are refused, forcing the applicant and the sponsor to appeal the decision, adding up to an additional year to the application processing times, plus the stress and cost of an appeal.

When you complete an application to sponsor your spouse, make extra effort in gathering and submitting evidence to prove that your relationship is in fact “genuine”. I typically categorize evidence into two groups, “sentimental evidence” and “hard evidence”.

The primary type of sentimental evidence used is photographs. Submit a selection photographs that capture the essence of your relationship. Photos of spouses together on vacation, with each other’s close family and at major life events (birthdays, holidays, vacations, etc.) are usually well received by the government. Do not make the mistake of only submitting photos from a single visit or a single day or only photos where you are wearing the same outfit. Your photos should represent different milestones in your relationship and not just the wedding.

Other sentimental evidence to submit includes copies of birthday/holiday cards, email printouts, Facebook printouts, love letters, wedding invitations and reference letters from close friends or family that confirm the nature of your relationship. I had a client once who wanted to submit a racy video which he said confirmed beyond doubt that his relationship was real. I told him he was taking it too far.

I classify all legal and third party documents as “hard evidence”. Hard evidence that you should plan to submit include copies of a power of attorney, copies of wills or life insurance policy, naming each spouse as the other’s beneficiary, copies of a leases or land title certificates, showing both spouses as tenants or owners and copies of bank statements, showing both spouses as joint account holders.

It is also worthwhile to submit copies of boarding passes, hotel reservations, receipts for gifts and dinner and passport stamps to prove that visits between spouses actually took place. Phone bills are an excellent way to confirm communication between spouses while separated.

My final tip is to be thorough in explaining your evidence. Explain what each piece of evidence is and why you are submitting it. Handing a visa officer a pile of evidence without any explanation makes their job difficult. In submitting your application, your goal should be to make the visa officer’s job as easy as possible to approve your application as quickly as possible.

A thorough and complete application, leaving no questions to be answered may even get you out of an interview and thereby speeding up your application processing. Visa officers are empowered with the discretion to waive interviews for applications where it is clear that the relationship is genuine. As such, the extra time that you put into gathering and explaining evidence will save you much hardship and hassle down the road.

While we all know that finding and maintaining true love is a lot of work, there is no need for an immigration application to follow suit. As when searching for that special someone, when completing a sponsorship application, be honest, open, convincing and thorough.


Ryan Rosenberg is am immigration lawyer and partner with Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors, in Vancouver. Contact Ryan at 604-681-9887, Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or visit his firm website at www.larlee.com.

Spousal Sponsorships - OVERSEAS

Without fail, at least twice a week and if not more, I get an anxious call or email from a client that goes something like this, “I have a great job, a loving family, strong friendships and my whole life ahead of me in Canada, and I just got married to a wonderful person who is resident in and a citizen of another country. It pains my heart that we aren’t living together in Canada, what do I do?”

The answer, 9 times out of 10 is to file a sponsorship application. There are a number of approaches that people can take when deciding how, where and when to sponsor a spouse’s immigration application. Generally, there are two options, applying from within Canada or applying outside of Canada. Last month I wrote on the in-Canada approach. This month I have written on the overseas application process.

The overseas application process differs from the in-Canada option in a number of key ways. This process is a two part application, comprised of the sponsor’s application to sponsor their spouse and the sponsored spouse’s or Applicant’s immigration application.

Both parts of this application are submitted to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (“CIC”) processing centre in Mississauga, Ontario. At that office, the sponsorship portion of the application will be assessed and once processed and hopefully approved, the immigration portion of the application will then be sent to the visa office outside of Canada that is responsible for processing applications from either the Applicant’s country of citizenship or the country for which the applicant has lawful status valid for at least one year. The applicant has the choice of electing where the application is processed if he or she is not resident in their country of nationality at the time of application.

The visa office will then assess the applicant’s admissibility (health, criminality, previous contraventions of Canada’s immigration laws, etc.) and the legitimacy of the marriage between the sponsor and the applicant.

Currently, the CIC office in Mississauga is taking approximately 40 days to process the sponsorship portion of these applications and visa posts are taking anywhere from 3 to 17 months to process the immigration portion. The international average for processing the immigration portion is 4 to 8 months.

Like the in-Canada process, it is the applicant and sponsor’s responsibilities to ensure that they have submitted sufficient evidence so as to make it easy for the assessing visa officer to determine that the relationship is genuine and was not entered into just so the applicant can immigrate to Canada. If necessary, the officer may request an interview, which will take place at the visa office.

While the application is in process the Applicant may reside in their home country or in Canada. Although there is no automatic right of entry as a visitor, student or worker during processing, if the Applicant wishes to reside in Canada during processing, there is no prohibition from applying for such status on the basis of having filed a sponsorship and immigration application. Basically, the applicant is free to travel, unlike the in-Canada process where the applicant and sponsor must reside together in Canada to qualify.

A good strategy is to check the CIC website as to where the quick processing times are and then elect the post that is most favourable in terms of processing times and travel convenience if an interview is called. Remember, the post elected must be the post responsible for the applicant’s country of nationality or for the country for which the applicant has lawful status for valid for at least one year.

If the applicant is already resident in Canada with lawful status, consider electing to have the application assessed in Buffalo, NY, the visa office responsible for residents in Canada, even if the applicant is not a citizen of the USA. This visa office can be favourable in comparison to other visa offices that take much longer to process cases and offers relatively close travel options to if an interview is called. An applicant will have the option of electing which Canadian consulate in the USA they wish to be interviewed at (Seattle, Detroit, New York, LA).

If the application is ultimately refused, unlike the in-Canada option, the Sponsor has the right to appeal the refusal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

Making the right decision as two what kind of application to file when trying to re-unite spouses in Canada should not be as daunting as making the right decision as to whom you should marry, however, making the wrong choice in either instance can cause harmful consequences to all involved.

Ryan N. Rosenberg, B.A., LL.B., is a immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates Law Corporation in Vancouver, B.C. Contact Ryan by e-mail at Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or by phone at 604-681-9887.

Spousal Sponsorships - IN CANADA

When it comes to falling in love to a non-Canadian resident or citizen, I constantly hear that falling in love was the easy part and getting that soul-mate to Canada was the real challenge. It shouldn’t have to be that way, but for many it is.

There are a number of approaches that people can take when deciding how, where and when to sponsor a spouse’s immigration application. Generally, there are two options, applying from within Canada or applying outside of Canada. This month I will focus on the in-Canada approach. Watch for my article next month when I focus on the outside of Canada option.

To sponsor a spouse from within Canada, the basic requirements are that the spouse and sponsor live together in Canada, that the sponsored spouse has legal status in Canada and that the sponsor has filed an application to sponsor. There is a policy based exception to these basic requirements for spouses who do not have legal status in Canada. Such spouses may request an exemption from the requirement to be in status on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. The policy related to this exemption is quite detailed and not all applicants are entitled to the exemption. Check with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or your immigration representative before relying on it.

Sponsored spouses have to fill out a variety of forms, take medical examinations, complete criminal background checks, pay processing fees and submit a pile of evidence of their relationship with the sponsor. Applications within Canada are filed at the CIC case processing centre in Vegreville, Alberta and straightforward cases currently take about 4-5 months to process. Complicated cases take longer and are referred to local CIC offices where the sponsor and spouse may be interviewed by an immigration officer.

While an application is in process, the sponsored spouse must stay in status and reside with the sponsor in Canada. As such, trips outside of Canada during processing are not usually advised. If an applicant leaves the country, even for a short vacation, and is not granted re-entry, that may have the effect of ending cohabitation between the spouses and will terminate status in Canada and therefore the spouses may fall outside of the basic requirements and the application may be refused.

If the application receives preliminarily approval, an in-Canada applicant will be entitled to apply for a work permit or study permit to bridge the gap between preliminary approval and getting an appointment to be landed as an immigrant. There is often a few month wait to get landed after preliminary approval.

A great tip is to apply for a work permit or study permit at the same time that an application is made for permanent residence (in the same envelope). That way an officer in Vegreville can issue a permit at the same time that the sponsorship application receives preliminary approval. This way, the applicant can make the most of the time between preliminary approval and landing, without having to file and wait for a permit.

If the application is refused, there is no right of appeal, so make sure you do a thorough job on your application and that you qualify under the program before investing time, money and effort into your application.


Ryan N. Rosenberg, B.A., LL.B., is a immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates Law Corporation in Vancouver, B.C. Contact Ryan by e-mail at Ryan.Rosenberg@larlee.com or by phone at 604-681-9887.

Winning Your Sponsorship Appeal

There are few things more disheartening then being told that your marriage is a sham – especially when it means you cannot live with your beloved in Canada.

Every year thousands of Canadian citizens and permanent residents (“PRs”) fall in love with someone from another country and those that fall hard enough will find themselves married. While some citizens and PRs will leave Canada to be with there spouse, others will embark on a bureaucratic and complicated process, mired in red tape, to sponsor their spouse’s immigration application to Canada. While many will succeed, others will fail, having their applications refused and relationships put on hold.

Spousal sponsorships can be refused for a number of reasons, including, for example, criminal records, sponsor bankruptcy, previous “issues” with Citizenship and Immigration Canada and the finding that a relationship is a fraud.

When faced with a refusal, the sponsor in Canada has the right to file an appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board. In the first 9 months of 2007 nearly 6,000 appeals were filed at the IAD and nearly 10,000 appeals were pending, albeit, not all of them stemming from refused sponsorship applications. The IAD also reviews matters ranging from appeals of refused parental sponsorships to removal of permanent residents from Canada for reasons related to, criminality, failure to meet the PR residency requirement and failure to complete terms and conditions imposed on an entrepreneur.

Even still, this is quite the workload for the decision-makers (“Members”), as there are were 28 of them working nationally by the fall of 2007, suggesting a backlog of almost 350 decisions per Member and processing times to have an appeal heard at over one year.

When the stakes in play are the future of a relationship and the waiting times for appeals are less than forgiving, the importance of and IAD appeal is apparent. But wait, it gets better. If you have been refused at appeal and want to re-apply to sponsor your spouse, think again.

The legal principle of res judicata tells us that once a decision is made by the IAD, the IAD is bound by it, even if a sponsor re-applies to sponsor his or her spouse and that application is refused and then appealed to the IAD for a second time. There are exceptions to this principle, including special circumstances, such as fraud or misconduct giving rise to a breach of natural justice or the existence of decisive new evidence. The onus is on the sponsor to show that this very high threshold is met.

What all of this boils down to is that sponsorship appeals at the IAD are not to be taken lightly. You are best served by putting the time and effort into submitting your sponsorship application in the first place to avoid having to deal with this process. If you are refused and must appeal, be ready for a long and drawn out process that requires ongoing attention, careful preparation and expert presentation.

Sponsorship Debts

Many Canadian citizens and permanent residents see sponsorships for what they are; an effective means to reunite their families in Canada. But what most sponsors don’t realize is that when they sign a sponsorship agreement they are signing more than just a ticket to Canada for a loved one, they are signing up for some serious responsibility.

When signing a sponsorship agreement, a sponsor makes four promises. The first is to provide the sponsored person and that person’s family members with all “basic requirements” for the length of the sponsorship agreement. Basic requirements include food, shelter, clothing, fuel, utilities, household supplies, personal requirements and health care not provided by public health, including dental care and eye care.

The second promise is to honour the sponsorship agreement, no matter what other financial obligations or other personal circumstances arise.

The third promise is that the sponsored person and his or her family will not need to apply for social assistance benefits.

The fourth promise is to promptly respond to requests for help from the sponsored person and his or her family members by giving money, buying items or providing services for their living expenses.

The promises made under a sponsorship agreement last for the term of the agreement, which can range from 3 years to 10 years, depending on the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person.

What is important about these promises is that they are enforceable by the government of Canada. If, for example, a sponsored immigrant goes on welfare or some other social assistance that is paid for by a provincial or federal program, the government of Canada or a provincial government can collect money from the sponsor equal to the social assistance paid to the sponsored immigrant.

If you are considering sponsorship or if you have sponsored someone be sure to know your rights as the consequences of breaking these agreements are severe.

In recent times, the British Columbia provincial government has increased its efforts to collect on sponsorship debts by taking collection actions against sponsors in default. In some cases, the provincial government is trying to collect over $100,000 from some sponsors that failed to provide “basic requirements” for the sponsored persons.

In a typical case, a sponsored person will go on welfare because they can’t find work in Canada. Welfare payments will not be refused by the province if the person otherwise qualifies, even though a sponsorship agreement is in place. Once the province recognizes the existence of a sponsorship agreement, they try to collect all of the welfare payments from the sponsor.

In some cases the provincial government registered liens against sponsors’ homes and in others they have sued. Default on a sponsorship agreement will also prevent a sponsor from ever sponsoring another person until their debt is repaid.

Sponsorship agreements are generally enforceable, but there are circumstances where they may not be. For example, if the sponsor is the victim of abuse at the hands of the sponsored person, the sponsorship agreement may not be enforceable. There are other grounds that may make a sponsorship agreement unenforceable at law; however these grounds have not been tested in the courts.

If the government is trying to collect a sponsorship debt from you as a sponsor, be sure to know your rights before you pay the government a single penny. In some cases a debt will not be collectable at all while in other cases, there will be severe consequences.

BC MSP Coverage

In my practise I am increasingly finding that new immigrants, temporary workers, international students, and family class applicants already in Canada are not aware that they are, in many cases, eligible for coverage under British Columbia’s Medical Service’s Plan (“MSP”).

Basically, the rules provide that in addition to Canadian citizens and permanent residents, some persons temporarily in the province are entitled to apply for care cards.

Eligibility for coverage under MSP is available to persons who are Canadian citizens or who have been lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence, as long as the applicant makes his/her home in BC and is physically present in BC for at least 6 months in a calendar year. The coverage extends to persons who are “deemed residents”, and that is where students, workers and family class applicants fit in.

People on work permits or study permits in BC can be “deemed residents”. They will be eligible for MSP coverage if their visas/permits are valid for 6 months or more, if the person remains in status and makes their home in BC and is physically present in BC for at least 6 months in a calendar year.

“Deemed residents” also include non-resident spouses and children (including adopted children) of residents. These people will be eligible if they have applied for status, like work permits or study permits or visitor status, as long as that application remains active and the other requirements set out above have been met. Non-resident spouses and children of residents will also be eligible if the resident spouse has filed a sponsorship application and paid the immigration processing fees for their spouse and or children who wish to apply for MSP coverage.

Basically, those not eligible are those without status or with only visitor status without having a pending sponsorship application filed with immigration Canada.

The requirement to be physically present in BC for at least 6 months in a calendar year is subject to a number of exceptions because not everyone comes to Canada with at least 6 months left in the year. Essentially, if you arrive in Canada after June 30, the 6 month requirement is effectively waived.

Once you file an application for MSP coverage, you must wait for eligibility. The wait period for eligibility is calculated by adding the month in which the applicant arrived in BC plus two additional months. For example, if you arrived on December 25, you would be eligible on March 1. If you arrived on January 1, you would be eligible on April 1.

Some applicants are not subject to the wait period, including babies born to residents, children adopted by a resident and convention refugees.

The rules for eligibility are complicated and confusing. At times, in my experience, HIBC, the private company administering MSP, fails to understand the rules themselves. We have seen a significant decrease in the understanding and application of these rules on the part of HIBC since they received the portfolio from the province.

If you believe you are eligible, persistence may be required to get the results you deserve. Given the cost of health care in this province without MSP coverage, a little hard work is well worth the effort.

Love, Relationships and Sponsorship

With Valentine’s Day on our calendar this month, how could I resist writing about love and relationships? While I’m not going to go on and on about how to find true love, I will take this opportunity to offer you some tips on how to be united with your soul-mate in Canada, if you have found love in another country.

Under Canadian immigration laws, Canadian citizens and permanent residents may sponsor their husband or wife, common-law partner or conjugal partner. A successful and thorough sponsorship application will land your better half in Canada relatively quickly, as compared to other types of immigration applications. At the same time, a flawed incomplete application can keep genuine spouses apart for an indefinite amount of time.

Aside from the many forms, police record checks and medical testing that an applicant must endure, Citizenship and Immigration Canada has made it a priority to keep fake marriages out of Canada. These regulations have been strengthened over the years to combat the high number of fraudulent cases, also known as marriages of convenience. As a consequence of these regulations, many applications based on genuine relationships are refused, forcing the applicant and the sponsor to appeal the decision, adding up to an additional year to the application processing times, plus the stress and cost of an appeal.

When you complete an application to sponsor your spouse, make extra effort in gathering and submitting evidence to prove that your relationship is in fact “true” love. I typically categorize evidence into two groups, “sentimental evidence” and “hard evidence”.

The primary type of sentimental evidence used is photographs. Submit a selection photographs that capture the essence of your relationship. Photos of spouses together on vacation, with each other’s close family and at major life events (birthdays, holidays, etc.) are usually well received by the government. Do not make the mistake of only submitting photos from a single visit or a single day. Your photos should represent different milestones in your relationship and not just the wedding.

Other sentimental evidence to submit includes copies of birthday/holiday cards, email printouts, love letters, wedding invitations and reference letters from close friends or family that confirm the nature of your relationship.

I classify all legal and third party documents as “hard evidence”. Hard evidence that you should plan to submit include copies of a power of attorney, granting each spouse power to act on the other’s behalf under prescribed circumstances, copies of wills or life insurance policy, naming each spouse as the other’s beneficiary, copy of a lease or land title certificate, showing both spouses as tenants or owners and copies of bank statements, showing both spouses as joint account holders.

It is also worthwhile to submit copies of boarding passes, hotel reservations, receipts for gifts and dinner and passport stamps to prove that visits between spouses actually took place. Phone bills are an excellent way to confirm communication between spouses while separated.

My final tip is to be thorough in explaining your evidence. Explain what each piece of evidence is and why you are submitting it. Handing a visa officer a pile of evidence without any explanation makes their job difficult. In submitting your application, your goal should be to make the visa officer’s job as easy as possible to approve your application as quickly as possible.

A thorough and complete application, leaving no questions to be answered may even get you out of an interview and thereby speeding up your application processing. Visa officers are empowered with the discretion to waive interviews for applications where it is clear that the relationship is genuine. As such, the extra time that you put into gathering and explaining evidence will save you much hardship and hassle down the road.

While we all know that finding and maintaining true love is a lot of work, there is no need for an immigration application to follow suit. As when searching for that special someone, when completing a sponsorship application, be honest, open, convincing and thorough.

Sponsoring your spouse

Spousal connections
With recent policy changes on spousal sponsorships, there is much to consider before you send in your application.

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their spouse to immigrate to Canada.

Citizens or permanent residents already cohabiting with their spouse in Canada can file a sponsorship application as a member of the “in-land class” of applicants or abroad as a member of the “family class” of applicants. When one spouse lives in Canada and the other spouse lives abroad the application must be made through the family class.

Which class you choose to use will impact who assesses the application, what rights the applicant has and the processing time that it takes to finalize the application. The in-land class is processed entirely in Canada and the family class is processed partially in Canada and partially at the visa post that services the applicant’s country of citizenship or residence.

There are a number of benefits in using the family class, including a right to appeal if the application is refused, historically faster processing time than the inland class and the applicant is free to live outside of Canada while the application is being processed.

Also, filing a family class application does not mean that you must be outside of Canada while the application is being processed. Applicants can be in or travel to Canada while the application is being processed so long as the applicant stays in status — that is, he or she has a valid visa.
The benefits of applying through the in-land class include the ability to continue to cohabit with your spouse while the application is being processed and an entitlement to an open study permit or work permit (once the application is approved in principle, but before a permanent resident visa is issued).

Be aware that the applicant cannot live outside Canada while an inland class application is being processed, but short trips abroad are typically allowed. Also, if the application is refused, in-land sponsors are not entitled to an appeal of the decision.

On February 18, 2005, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced a new policy that prioritized the processing of all spousal applications and removed the requirement for in-land spouses to be in status when their application is submitted. That being said, it is always advised to remain in status when possible while in Canada.

This policy has opened Canada’s doors to spouses who are in Canada and whom are, for example, failed refugee claimants or people who forgot to extend their study, work or visitor visas.

To qualify under this policy, an applicant must be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is their genuine spouse and with whom they cohabit.
There are a number of restrictions that will make a person ineligible for the program. For example, an applicant will not qualify if inadmissible to Canada for criminal, security or serious public health risks.

One of the most contentious issues stemming from this policy is the effect it will have on persons who are in the process of being removed from Canada. Filing an in-land spousal application will not always stop removal from Canada. But, if an applicant is removed from Canada prior to approval of an application, the applicant will be allowed to return to Canada upon approval.
In 2004, an estimated more than 40,000 spouses were reunified with their Canadian spouse through family-class applications. For the thousands still waiting in queue, the new policy also brings hope of quicker processing times and quicker reunification.

Ryan N. Rosenberg, BA, LLB, is an immigration lawyer with Larlee & Associates. Email him at rnrosenberg@larlee.com.