Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Criminality appeals before the IAD

I was before the IAD on a number of appeals involving removal orders for criminality. As I've written in the past, these appeals involve the consideration of the so called "Ribic factors", namely: Seriousness of the offence leading to the removal order; Remorse/potential for rehabilitation; Length of time/establishment in Canada; Family in Canada and the dislocation to that family upon removal; Community support; and Degree of hardship upon return. Such hearings are analogous to sentencing hearings in criminal courts. I typically get the following evidence before the panel: - when the appellant came to Canada, his/her age at the time; - how the appellant became a permanent resident; - languages spoken; - employment history; - education (in Canada and the country of origin); - relationship history; - family composition; - children and arrangements for support; - household finances and financial contribution/dependency (if any); - assets/liabilities; - support from friends and family; - circumstances of the offence (including whether violence was involved/whether it was a pattern of offences or a singular occurrence); - country evidence for the country of return; - efforts at rehabilitation/compliance with probation or other conditions imposed after the criminal finding of guilt/counselling, degree of insight (this is... Read more →

Marriages of Convenience continuing concern

Marriages of convenience - fraudulent marriages arranged to bring a foreign national to Canada are a continuing concern. CBC Article here. Why should people care about this issue? Well, for one, the integrity of our immigration system is at stake. The other reason is that a surfeit of fraudulent marriages means that immigration will respond by tightening requirements, which might mean that legitimate marriages will be lumped in with the fraudulent. When a marriage is denied, the couple have the option to appeal the refusal to the Immigration Appeal Division. In my experience, the Immigration Appeal Division allows the majority of such appeals. That means that legitimate couples were forced to go through several years and pay thousands of dollars in travel and legal fees to prove their real marriage were in fact real. There's no easy answer or solution. Some might suggest increasing funding and investigations. At the end of the day, we may realize that our approach is wrong. I would suggest that the sponsorship be straightforward, but that a provisional visa be provided to anyone being sponsored in this manner. The provisional visa would allow them to enter and reside here, and start their life in Canada.... Read more →