Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Law Firm Blog

The More Things Change ... Mexicans Require Visas (Again) to Visit Canada

The more things change, the more they stay the same. In 2009, then Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Jason Kenney, imposed a visitor visa requirement on Mexican nationals after a significant surge in asylum claims from that country -notwithstanding the serious human rights and other issues plaguing that nation. The Liberal government now somewhat long in the tooth rescinded that requirement in 2016. Claims have shot up from a hundred or so from 2015 to about 25K last year. The Quebec government cried foul given the burden fell disproportionately on belle province; the Americans did as well. The Liberals have responded with imposing visa requirements on Mexican nationals again, albeit attenuated with the ETA. I discussed this with Shaye Ganam of 630 CHED last week. Transcript: Shaye Ganam: Now a lot of people will be getting out of here soon, getting away from the cold weather. Spring break is almost upon us. I'm not sure when it is. I don't have kids in school anymore, but it's sometime in March I think. So we know a lot of people will head to Mexico, right? They do every year. There's probably a lot of Canadians in Mexico right now. Probably a... Read more →

The Canadian Immigration Experience -CBC Townhall Discussion January 18, 2024

... Transcript ... Judy Aldous: What do you make of this idea of capping of international students? Raj Sharma KC: It seems quite odd to see Marc Miller indicate any concern when these are the policies that have been in place for many, many years. We've seen a dramatic increase in the number of international students. International students contribute $20 billion to this economy. On the same side, we have provincial governments like Ontario and Alberta, they've dramatically decreased the funding to post-secondary institutions. That funding is now being made up by these international students. And so you watch, let's see, let's see what happens when you do this cap on international students and you'll see Queen's University has a $48 million shortfall in part due to a decrease in the number of international students there. Saima Jamal: We're not putting them up for success then, because they're already coming with a lot of financial stress. There's this myth that international students are very rich people. They're kids are very rich parents, but when you come here, you just come with the tuition. Most of them work really hard. A lot of them in Calgary, they go to the Gurdwara... Read more →

Reverse or Onward Migration a Growing Trend

I had the opportunity to engage in an insightful conversation with Ritesh Lakhi on RedFM Vancouver, where we delved into the pressing issue of onward migration amongst new immigrants in Canada. Our discussion shed light on the growing trend of immigrants leaving Canada due to various factors, including the challenges of housing affordability, rising inflation, and other socio-economic hurdles. We also explored the crucial aspect of not only immigrant intake but the significance of their integration and retention in Canada. The conversation highlighted the upcoming challenges and the need for strategic approaches to ensure the successful assimilation of non-immigrant residents in the Canadian societal fabric. What is reverse or onward migration? Simply put, growing numbers of immigrants are choosing to leave rather than stay: Ottawa, ON — A new report from the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC), The Leaky Bucket, finds that growing numbers of immigrants to Canada are deciding to leave rather than stay. The report, produced for the ICC by the Conference Board of Canada, finds onward migration, immigrants leaving Canada, has been increasing slowly for decades, but suddenly surged in 2017 and 2019 — the most recent period of available data. The report also finds the risk... Read more →

2023 A Year in Review

Another year comes to a close. We've seen over the past 365 days a plethora of immigration news, announcements and developments (we even got through a federal government strike, thankfully one that seemed to have minimum impact on processing). One constant in this field has been the revolving door at the very top; 2023 saw yet another Minister take charge (I’m losing count of the number of Ministers I’ve seen come and go since I started practice). What has stood out for me this year was the following: The end to immigration detention –at least in the form that many of us were familiar with. For those unfamiliar with those dark times, here’s an interview where immigration detention was discussed ten years ago. And, lest we forget, Canada, like the US, was also no stranger to detaining minor children (including Canadian citizens because their parent(s) was detained). Alberta gave notice to CBSA to end the detention agreement and I was interviewed on this issue in January of this year: “Conditions at the (Calgary) Remand Centre are a very blunt instrument for the vagaries of immigrant situations,” said Raj Sharma, a Calgary immigration lawyer. “A typical detainee profile is someone who’s... Read more →

2023 Year End Interview -Immigration Developments in the UK, Australia, and Canada

December 2023 -year end interview with RedFM host Rishi Nagar, UK immigration lawyer Harjap Bhangal and Canadian immigration lawyer Raj Sharma KC discussing immigration developments in the Anglosphere -US, UK, Australia, and Canada. From a recent Toronto Star article: As Canada wrestles with questions about its own immigration plan, two of the countries it competes with for immigrants are taking measures to limit how many newcomers they're taking in. Earlier this month, the United Kingdom launched a five-point plan in an attempt to slash its net migration by 300,000 from 672,000 in 2023. Last week, Australia unveiled new measures aiming to halve its annual immigration intake in 2025 from a record 510,000 people this year. Like Canada, both countries are facing public pressures over housing shortages and the soaring cost of living. As I discussed in the interview, some of the changes brought in by the UK would be anathema here in Canada: In the U.K., officials are going to raise the minimum annual salary for a sponsored skilled worker by almost 48 per cent to £38,700 (except for health and care workers). They will reduce the number of qualifying occupations under the shortage occupation list that allows employers to... Read more →

November 7, 2023 RedFM Punjabi language discussion on immigration levels announcement by Minister Marc Miller. Raj Sharma interviewed by Amanjot Pannu.

On November 7, 2023 I was interviewed by host Amanjot Pannu on RedFM and engaged in a Punjabi language discussion on the recent immigration levels announcement by Minister Marc Miller. In my opinion, Canada's immigration landscape is at a crossroads, with a surge in the temporary resident class (now) raising concerns among policymakers and the public alike. This surge seemingly wasn't a concern until this year when affordability and inflation raised its head. This temporary resident demographic encompasses both international students and temporary foreign workers, has been significantly impacted by recent policy decisions, leading to unforeseen challenges and will soon result in a reevaluation. Understanding the Temporary Resident Class: The temporary resident class is a crucial component of Canada's immigration system, intended to address short-term labor shortages and to enrich the educational landscape. However, the balance between its two primary subsets – international students and temporary foreign workers – has been skewed by policies allowing international students full-time employment and businesses to leverage cheaper foreign labor. Understanding the Immigration Plan or Levels Announcement: Minister Marc Miller's 'plan' is essentially a plan to have a plan. He's announced some tweaks to the overall levels but essentially it's an announcement of 'holding... Read more →

CBC Daybreak Interview on Newly Announced Immigration Levels

I was interviewed by Chris Walker of CBC Daybreak on November 2, 2023 discussing the newly announced immigration levels announced by Minister Miller. Download 2023 11 02 CBC daybreak interview Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · 2023 11 02 CBC Daybreak Interview Chris Walker: 13 minutes after six o'clock Pacific Time Immigration Minister Marc Miller has unveiled the federal government's updated immigration plan. It aims to attract more immigrants to smaller communities and rural areas, and we'll have more on that by the way, a bit later this morning on our program. This plan is also meant to ease labor shortages, with. The focus on sectors like construction and healthcare. The government says about 465,000 immigrants are expected this year, followed by half a million for each of the following two years. Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer and former immigration officer, and is on the line from Calgary this morning. Raj Sharma, good morning. Raj Sharma: Good morning, Chris. Chris Walker: What do you think of this plan so far as we know the details? Raj Sharma: I think you hit it on the head there. It is a plan and there's not a lot of details. Generally speaking,... Read more →

CHC Delhi Short Staffed

A recent stakeholder meeting reveals the impact of the diplomatic strain on Canadian immigration services in India. In a stakeholder meeting held on October 20, 2023, between Deputy Minister Christiane Fox of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Deputy Minister Rob Stewart of Global Affairs Canada, and representatives from the Canadian Bar Association's National Immigration Section (including our friend Jatin Shory), concerns were addressed regarding the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Canada and India. The immediate fallout has been the expulsion of 41 Canadian diplomats from India, seriously affecting immigration processing services due to staffing reductions in Canadian missions. That expulsion includes a significant number of visa officers and their dependents. The tension, initiated by the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada and subsequent political repercussions, has led to a situation with only *five* visa officers remaining in India. My law partner, Bjorn Harsanyi and I have both served as immigration officers many years ago--we understand all too well that such a dramatic decrease in personnel can only result in significant reduction in capacity; CHC Delhi necessarily can only focus on urgent cases and routine visa services can only be hindered. We are of course grateful for the stakeholder discussion/inclusion... Read more →

Interview -CBC Alberta at Noon with Judy Aldous Canada-India Tensions

The following is a transcript of an interview/call-in show -CBC Alberta at Noon with Judy Aldous -on October 4, 2023 Judy Aldous: Rising tensions with India. What does this mean to you? This is Alberta at Noon. I'm Judy Aldous. Well, the anti-Canada rhetoric has surged in the Indian media. Palki Sharma: Clearly the Canadian Prime Minister is out of his depths. Arnab Goswami: And ladies and gentlemen, he is facing a huge backlash from the press back home. Palki Sharma: It seems that the Canadian leader needs a lesson in international relations. Arnab Goswami: And Justin Trudeau is appeasing the terrorist groups by backing Khalistani terrorists openly and trying to take on India. Judy Aldous: Well, it has been two and a half weeks since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the Indian government of being behind the murder of a Canadian. Diplomats have been recalled. Some visas aren't being processed. And today on the show, we want to know what impact this is all having on you. Seven minutes after 12. Well, the most recent move is that India has told Canada to remove 41 of its 62 diplomats. That's according to a report from the Financial Times. India... Read more →

Punjabi language interview on RedFM discussing the suspension of visa services to Canadians

I was asked to discuss the unprecedent suspension of visa services to Canadians on RedFM on September 22, 2023. Note: the suspension of visa services only applies to new or pending applications; it does not impact the rights of anyone that holds an OCI or valid visa to India. Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · September 2023 RedFM Interview on suspension of visas for Canadians 2023 09 22 RedFM interview on visa suspension Read more →

Raj Sharma Interview on CBC BC Today with Michelle Elliot -September 21, 2023

The following is a transcript of an interview on September 21, 2023. Michelle Elliot: [inaudible 00:00:00] visa services in Canada, is Raj Sharma. He's an immigration lawyer and former immigration officer, and Raj joins me now from Calgary. Hello, good afternoon. Raj Sharma: Good afternoon. Michelle Elliot: Thank you very much for joining us this afternoon. What do you make of this latest move from India? Raj Sharma: Well, whenever we deal with international disputes it's the ordinary people that find themselves caught in the crossfire. My thoughts right now are for my clients. My thoughts right now are for individuals like my parents that immigrated to Canada from India many, many years ago so that diaspora is stranded in Canada without that overseas citizenship of India. There is no more E visa, there is no more visa consular services for Canadians, ostensibly because of security concerns but they won't even issue a visa to a Canadian even if that application's made outside of Canada to a different consulate. So we've got people stranded in Canada, they can't rush back if there's any sort of family emergency. We've got a massive disruption that's going to happen In terms of tourism... Read more →

Raj Sharma Interview on CBC News Network on the Suspension of Visa Services for Canadians

Transcript of an interview on September 24, 2023: Deanna Sumanac-Johnson: As we mentioned, India announced it was stopping all visa services for Canadians. The move has led to concern and frustration among many Indians in Canada. For more on this angle, we're joined by immigration lawyer Raj Sharma. Thank you so much for making the time for us, Raj. Tell me, first of all, what do you make of India's decision to suspend visa services for Canadians? Raj Sharma: First of all, the announcement was out of the blue. No one expected it. Obviously, the Indians didn't telegraph this. They sort of ratcheted it up fairly quickly. So, firstly, they responded very strongly to the allegations of a potential link for the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar to Indian agents or Indian diplomats. This [announcement] came out of the blue, and so as you can imagine, it's resulted in a great deal of unease and uncertainty for Indo-Canadians. Now we have hundreds of thousands of Indo-Canadians. Of course, we have the 700,000 plus Sikhs from the Punjab, mainly from Punjab. We also have Indians from all over India. Indo-Canadians have maintained massive ties to [India], and [as one example] this... Read more →

Discussing the Bhaona Mohamed case, the IAD flouting Justice Ahmed's Decision, and the Role of the Federal Court, on the Borderlines Podcast

I went on Borderlines, the excellent immigration law podcast, to discuss the recent decision of Justice O'Reilly that will result in a third IAD hearing for Bhaona Mohamed, a frontline LTC healthcare worker that sought humanitarian relief to overcome a breach of the residency obligation. The transcript is below. Borderlines · #87 - Visa Officers and the IAD Ignoring or Disagreeing with Federal Court, with Raj Sharma Borderlines number 87 discussing Bhaona Mohamed Steven Meurrens: Hello and welcome to Borderlines. A podcast for the discussion of Canadian immigration law. I'm Steven Meurrens. In Episode 69 of this podcast, recorded about a year ago, Raj Sharma was our guest to discuss his case, Mohammed v. Canada Citizenship and Immigration 2022 FC1. There in setting aside the refusal of an immigration appeal division decision Justice Ahmed stated, "As a healthcare aide, the applicant risked her own health and safety to support health comprised and aging individuals. She is applying the very skills she acquired in Canada over a decade ago at a time when they're desperately needed while not knowing if she herself will be able to stay in Canada. To frame this commitment and these contributions as only a "moderately positive"... Read more →

International Students From Heroes to Zeroes

Veteran Toronto Star reporter Nicholas Keung contacted me last week regarding a proposed "cap" on international students; the Federal Government has indicated that it may assess their intake given their (apparent) impact on the housing "crisis". My thoughts: Fraser’s remarks also marked a change from when he was overseeing Immigration and staunchly defended the Liberals’ record immigration levels and strategy to stimulate economic recovery through immigration. “I find this a little bit disingenuous,” said Calgary immigration lawyer Raj Sharma. “The minister who’s talking about capping international students is the same minister that eliminated the 20-hour limit of working in a week for the international students.” “It’s very odd for Mr. Fraser to be speaking out of both sides of his mouth.” While concentration of international students in particular urban hot spots has contributed to the rising rental costs and strained housing supplies in the GTA, the Lower Mainland in B.C. and parts of Alberta and the Maritimes, Sharma said the housing challenges predated the influx. International students have become such an integral part of the immigration system and the Canadian economy that it’s hard to just turn the tap on and off, he said. … “There’s a lot of stakeholders,... Read more →

RedFM Punjabi Language Interview with Raj Sharma and Ashwin Sharma Discussing Canada's New Immigration Initiatives

My brother, Ashwin Sharma (a well known and respected US immigration attorney), and I were interviewed by Rishi Nagar on RedFM to discuss Canada's new immigration initiatives, including the 'digital nomad' announcement and an interesting stream targeting those with H1B visas in the US. Ashwin is the H1B expert and provided valuable insight and context regarding the H1B program in the US. Further details are expected later in July and it will be very interesting to see whether Canada can cherry-pick highly skilled H1B holders in the US with the allure of a 3 year open work permit (along with status for spouses and children) and, one expects, a ready pathway to Permanent Residence in this country. 2023 09 28 redfm interview with ashwin on tech streams Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · 2023 09 28 Redfm Interview On Tech Streams Raj Sharma and Ashwin Sharma Read more →

Punjabi language interview: The Supreme Court on the Safe Third Country Agreement and the Plight of Indian International Students

I was interviewed by Calgary RedFM News Director Rishi Nagar on the Supreme Court decision on the Safe Third Country Agreement and the plight of Indian international students caught up in the fake admission letter scam. 2023 06 19 redfm interview stc and students Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · 2023 06 19 Redfm Interview Stc And Students I've discussed this matter in the past (including with Kubeir Kamal); while the present outcome has turned out in favour of the students affected there will be a number of downstream consequences. There is also a very recent decision on this matter by the Federal Court: Singh v. MCI 2023 FC 747. Read more →

Interview discussing the federal worker strike on immigration processing (Punjabi)

Immigration lawyer Raj Sharma is interviewed by RedFM host Rishi Nagar during his Punjabi language morning show discussing the federal government strike impact on immigration processing and issues for international students and temporary residents. Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · 2023 05 01 Redfm Interview Read more →

CBC Interview -Impact of the PSAC strike on immigration and refugee processing

I was interviewed on the CBC at Noon program with Judy Aldous -discussing the immigration issue of the day -the impact of the PSAC strike on immigration, citizenship and refugee processing. Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · April 20 2023 CBC Interview Transcript Judy Aldous: …Raj Sharma is an immigration lawyer in Calgary and he is with us now on the phone -hello Raj yeah you shouldn't have been free right you had a client who was supposed to have a hearing this morning what happened? Raj Sharma: I had a case today, the hearing was to start at 11 the case itself was very compelling; my client was from Zimbabwe and was tortured in the past to the point that he lost the vision of his right eye and so we were expecting some finality and a positive decision. And yesterday we received an email that went out —that hearings and refugee hearings in particular were going to be affected by this strike Judy Aldous: What was your client's response to that and yours as well Raj Sharma: Well to some degree it is what it is there's not much that can be done. I mean refugees are already... Read more →

Ask Kubeir -Thoughts on the Deportation of Indian International Students

I joined Kubeir to discuss the plight of Indian International Students facing removal because of the use of false documents in their applications. This follows my interview with Rishi Nagar of RedFM Calgary -this time, the discussion was in English. We also chatted about the huge number of individuals in Canada as temporary residents and recent developments with EE and Bill C19. It was a great chat and I'm looking forward to joining Kubeir in the future. Kubeir Kamal: Good morning, Bonjour. Welcome to the channel. My name is Kubeir for everybody who is Fasting Mubarak. I have with me today a very prominent immigration lawyer who is made a name for himself in, in several, several immigration related litigations in terms of admissibility hearings, mis misrepresentations, refugees. And today we are gonna pick his brain with regards to what's happening with these international students that we are hearing about who have presumably, presumably been given deportation orders because apparently the horse doesn't, hasn't heard about them. So let me first bring Raj Sharma on. Hi Raj, welcome to the channel. Raj Sharma: Thank you. Thank you for having me Kubeir. Kubeir Kamal: No, thank you for sparing the time.... Read more →

Indian Students Facing Deportation: Another Perspective

As an immigration lawyer, I frequently come across cases that highlight the importance of due diligence in the immigration process. This morning, I was interviewed by Rishi Nagar of RedFM Calgary about the recent media articles regarding the deportation of hundreds of Indian international students. Raj Sharma Deportations_mixdown Stewart Sharma Harsanyi Immigration Lawyers · Deportation of 700 Indian Origin International Students It should be noted that the number used (700) is not independently verified. The students are facing deportation from Canada due to fake admission letters. These students used the services of overseas educational consultants or most likely “ghost consultants” to prepare the study permit package and supporting documents (proof of language proficiency, proof of admission to a recognized DLI, proof of finances/financial support). From what I’ve seen, the applicants pay an inordinate amount of money to the agent, around the 20 lakh figure. This figure is apparently inclusive of the tuition fees but it’s strange that the fees are not paid directly to the DLI. Those caught up all pay a massive amount of money to an unregistered individual and all proclaim their trust and (over) reliance on his services. Once here, they may flip to another DLI and... Read more →