Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

Deporting a Permanent Resident

Canada is seeking to deport or remove Belhassen Trabelsi, the brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian President Zine Ben Ali. Trabelsi is (or perhaps was) a permanent resident of Canada. Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon has made clear the Canadian government's commitment in removing Trabelsi, whether by deporting him or extraditing him. Extradition is a criminal process and, generally speaking, is the fastest way of removing an individual. The Globe and Mail has reported that the Federal Government has "revoked" Trabelsi's permanent resident status. There is no avenue to simply strip a permanent resident of his or her legal status in Canada. Deporting a permanent resident can take a number of permutations. It could be that Trabelsi has committed an offence outside Canada; he may have committed misrepresentation on his own application for permanent residency; or he simply may not have complied with the residency requirement imposed on all permanent residents (2 years in Canada out of every 5). Either could be grounds for a report alleging inadmissibility that would be prepared by the CBSA. This report would then be referred to the Immigration Division, a quasi-judicial administrative tribunal where Trabelsi could challenge the CBSA allegations. If a removal order is issued... Read more →

Citizenship Residency Requirements

Citizenship is generally granted to an individual who has accumulated three years of residency in a four year period. What is not that generally known is that there are varying interpretations as to what the residency requirement actually means. Does it mean 'two feet on the ground' or a broader interpretation? In Cardin v. MCI 2011 FC 29, Justice Mactavish sets out the three different schools of thought: [8] There are three different schools of thought as to how the residency requirement of paragraph 5(1)(c) is to be applied. The first is the Re Pourghasemi test used in this case, which only asks whether the applicant has been physically present in this country for a total of three years out of four, or a minimum of 1095 days. [9] The second test is that articulated in Re Papadogiorgakis, [1978] 2 F.C. 208; [1978] F.C.J. No. 31. This is a less stringent test in that it looks at whether an applicant has an established residence and strong attachment to Canada, even if he or she has been temporarily absent away from Canada. [10] The third test is the one most commonly used in citizenship cases. This is the so-called “Koo” test,... Read more →

CIC Investigations: Marriages of Convenience

Citizenship and Immigration Canada here in Calgary is investigating individuals that came to Canada by marrying a Canadian/permanent resident spouse and subsequently divorced that spouse to remarry and sponsor a new spouse. One officer is tasked with this responsibility and there are perhaps 40 individuals that are being interviewed in the next few weeks. I attended with my client for the first interview last week. The purpose of the interview is to discuss the first marriage -- and to do an after the fact exercise in determining whether it was genuine. If the officer is not satisfied, the individual could be written up for misrepresentation and face removal from Canada. The typical fact scenario is the following: Individual marries a CC (Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident) and is sponsored to Canada; Individual divorces the CC or PR and (typically within a year of the divorce) returns to their country to marry again; The second sponsorship is submitted but CIC gets concerned, puts that sponsorship on hold and refers the matter to the local office for further investigation; Time passes ... the individual and his (second) spouse are separated ... the visa office abroad refuses to process the application for the... Read more →