Posted under: Canada Immigration, Canada Permanent Residency, Canada Refugee by Canada Immigration Tips
by Atty. Gregory James
A refugee claimant whose claim is refused is almost always subject to a deportation order. Once a person is subject to a deportation order she is banned from ever returning to Canada unless she can get special permission from a visa officer.
I had a very pleasant meeting with a couple of my former clients this afternoon. After being deported from Canada they are now back as permanent residents.
They hired me after they had been told they were being deported. We started working on their application for permanent residence right away, and filed it at a Canadian visa office. They had to leave Canada, which they understandably found stressful. But their ultimate goal has been accomplished, and they are now permanent residents of Canada and in three years will be able to apply for citizenship.
They are not the only clients who have been able to accomplish this. In other cases we were able to file the application at the visa office before the client was called in to the deportation office. Many of those clients spent very little time outside Canada before coming back - sometimes as quickly as four weeks later.
This strategy is often simpler, faster and more likely to succeed than the usual strategy of filing an application inside Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Atty. Gregory James is an immigration lawyer in Toronto. You may contact him about
permanent residence in Canada by calling him at 416-538-1301 or visit www.gregoryjameslaw.com
Posted under: Canada Immigration Q and A by Canada Immigration Tips
Q: I’m over 50 years old and I entered Canada to visit my daughter about two years ago. My daughter does not have sufficient income to sponsor me at this time so my consultant suggested that I claim refugee status in order to buy time in Canada. My daughter will be getting married soon so we are hoping that her income will be more in future. My question is whether the refugee claim will be a factor in the sponsorship application if it eventually refused?
A: Ok, let’s see. You entered Canada two years ago and delayed your fear of persecution for two years. You then contacted a consultant who has no law degree or licence to practice law. You then admittedly filed a bogus refugee claim in order to simply buy time. Given those facts, I would have to say that your refugee claim will likely be refused and it is unethical and improper for the consultant to file an application knowing it is false or turning a blind eye to the facts. In your defence, perhaps you were led to believe that the consultant was a lawyer as many of them give the impression that their office is a law office or perhaps they trick you with their name such as “ABC Legal Services.” The bottom line is that the refugee system is designed to protect genuine claims and to simply clog up the courts to “buy time” is an abuse.
Secondly, if your daughter is getting married, her spouse would be able to be a co-signer to add to the family income. In my opinion, the bogus refugee claim was a bad decision and that a sponsorship application would be a better route. The reason is that a sponsorship application refusal gives rise to an automatic appeal right. At the appeal you can argue that your daughter now has sufficient income. Since sponsorships are taking over two years, it is likely that you will be deported by then and then you will need special authorization to return to Canada.
Atty. Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto. The article above is general advice only is not intended as legal document. Send your inquiries to his office phone 416-733-3193 or visit his website http://www.moyal.com
