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Coming to Canada When You've Got a Criminal History: A Brief Overview.
According to Canadian immigration
regulations, if you have even one criminal
occurrence many years back, it may have an
effect on your Canadian visit or immigration
to the country; the good news is, the
Canadian government provides ways to confront
and even get past this potential stumbling
block to your entry.
When planning your departure for Canada,
there are four ways to re-examine your
criminal history: You might be deemed
rehabilitated, you might apply for
rehabilitation, you might be eligible for a
pardon, or you might obtain a temporary
resident permit.
In any case considering convictions and
their effect on entry, distinction is made as
between convictions in Canada and those
outside Canada. Convictions outside Canada -
even in a country so close in geography and
culture as the United States - must be
approximated to the charges most similar to
them in Canada. Interesingly, for countries so
similar in so many ways, the respective
justice systems in the U.S. and Canada do not
always
easily correspond.
It is also important to remember that on
entry applications to Canada - be they
temporary, for example as a foreign worker
coming on a visa, or permanent, if trying to
enter for permanent residency - criminal
history is canvassed as well. So a person
with any criminal history at all should be
mindful that their history matters, and their
history will
be seen through the lens of the Canadian law.
If convicted of charges, being deemed
rehabilitated by the system itself is most
desirable. This analysis is complex.
Retaining a Canadian lawyer or
Foreign Legal Consultant with experience in
criminal law is helpful for assessing deemed
rehabilitation.
If a person cannot be deemed
rehabilitated, an application for
rehabilitation can be made to allow an
immigration official to decide if entry to
Canada is warranted. An official application
is required and there is a processing fee,
which is not set; it ranges from $200 to
$1000 (Canadian funds, of course) depending
on the level of scrutiny and the officials
involved in the case.
A pardon (granted in Canada, for a
Canadian charge) might be available for the
individual and charges in question. The
rough understanding of a Canadian pardon is
that when it is granted, the charge no longer
has a bearing on an immigration-related
application. Moreover, a pardon might
correspond to the pardon process in other
countries, but this is something that has to
be checked with the Canadian authorities and
not assumed. A discharge is available in two
forms in Canada: absolute and conditional.
This form of conviction connotes a "finding
of guilt" but has unique meaning in the world
of 'convictions'. Most importantly, in terms
of an absolute discharge - if not a
conditional one - the discharge may provide
an individual with room for potential entry.
Moreover, discharges and non-convictions in
other countries, such as in the USA, are
often equivalent to a non-conviction and may
not pose a bar to entry.
A Temporary Resident Permit might be
available for an individual trying to enter
or stay in Canada. These are applications
that allow an inadmissible person (who, for
example, has failed on application for
rehabilitation) to come to the country. An
immigration official will weigh the country's
interest or humanitarian aspect of allowing
the individual to enter as compared to
government criteria of people who are
dangerous or otherwise unadvisable entrants
to Canada.
An application to enter Canada at any time
can be complicated by even the mildest or
oldest of criminal convictions. Please
contact Nachman and Associates for assistance
with your application to enter Canada under
these circumstances so we can assist you. We
have unique experience in Canadian criminal
and immigration matters.
Contact Our Office for More Information . . .
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Dear Readers:
Canada, attracting increasing numbers of
immigrants in this difficult economic
climate, is changing its immigration policies
at rapid speed. Many programs are being
implemented to receive more foreign nationals
into its borders. Tired of your current
country's landscape? See below for what news
is shaking just north of the US border.
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| New Pilot Projects in Alberta and Ontario. |
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Alberta and Ontario are now allowing
dependent children of Temporary Foreign
Workers, who are of working age, to avoid the
complicated Labour Market Opinion process
(LMO) in order to legally work in Canada.
They may obtain now an Open Work Permit,
which enables them to accept and work a job
without first receiving a confirmed job offer
or an LMO from HRSDC.
Until now, in order to accompany their
parents, dependent children of Temporary
Foreign Workers needed to come to Canada on
either a study permit or a visitor visa.
They could also apply for their own work
permits, but then faced the difficult LMO
process.
The new pilot projects, allowing for Open
work permits for foreign national youth, thus
represent an attractive route for those
bringing their families north of the border
as dependents. Under these pilot projects,
in effect from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010,
dependent children of Temporary Foreign
Workers headed to, or working in, either
Alberta or Ontario will be eligible to apply
for Open Work Permits if certain conditions
are met.
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For More Information, Contact Our Office . . . |
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| New Quebec Experience Class Offers Faster Route to Permanent Residency. |
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The "Programme de l'expérience québécoise,"
or "Quebec Experience Class" (PEQ), is a new,
accelerated immigration program that will
allow international students and Temporary
Foreign Workers in Quebec to apply to
immigrate permanently to Quebec.
The PEQ,
which will be put into effect before October,
2009, shares some aspects with its federal
counterpart, the Canadian Experience Class
(CEC). However, the PEQ process will
be even more simplified than the CEC process,
and applicants will be able to qualify
sooner under the PEQ than the CEC after they
first arrive in Canada.
Under the PEQ, foreign students will be
eligible to apply for a Certificat de
Sélection du Quebec (Quebec Selection
Certificate, a document that allows the
holder to immigrate to Quebec, commonly known
as a CSQ) if they meet certain requirements.
Temporary Foreign Workers in Quebec
will be eligible to apply under different
criteria. Because the application process
for the
PEQ is so simplified, Quebec immigration
authorities expect the assessment of
applications under the PEQ to be completed
relatively rapidly.
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For More Information, Contact Our Office . . . |
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| New Program to Facilitate Travel Through Canadian Airports. |
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The Government of Canada is making it easier
for international travelers on their way to
and from the United States to pass through
Canadian airports. Citizenship, Immigration
and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney,
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan, and
International Trade and the Asia-Pacific
Gateway Minister Stockwell Day announced the
news in Vancouver on July 30th.
Intended to achieve a balance between
ensuring security and facilitating the
movement of genuine travellers, the Transit
Without Visa program is being implemented in
Vancouver following a successful pilot
project undertaken at the Vancouver
International Airport. Other major Canadian
airports will now be able to apply for
similar status.
"Removing the requirement for a Canadian
transit visa will make Canadian airports more
attractive for international travellers going
to and from the United States," said Minister
Kenney. "This will help airports expand their
business, which will in turn have a positive
impact on the local economy."
"This program creates an opportunity to
enhance travel to North America through
Canada, while protecting our security
interests," said Minister Van Loan.
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To Read More About This Program, Click Here . . . |
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| The Government of Canada Introduces New Resource For Employers Interested in Hiring Internationally Trained Workers. |
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A new resource to help guide employers
through the hiring process for
internationally trained workers was announced
in Ottawa on July 16th by Citizenship,
Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister
Jason Kenney.
"The Government of Canada is committed to
improving the labour market integration of
internationally trained workers - this is
essential to building a strong Canada:
socially, culturally and economically," said
Minister Kenney. "Employers are key partners
in helping internationally trained workers
find jobs in their areas of training, and
this resource makes it easier for employers
to assess their qualifications."
The Employer's Roadmap will help employers
meet their labour needs and will allow
skilled newcomers to put their knowledge and
training to work in Canada more quickly.
As Andrew Cardozo, Executive Director,
The Alliance of Sector Councils (TASC)
stated, "The Employer's Roadmap is exactly
what is needed to make the process of hiring
and retaining internationally trained workers
a lot more efficient."
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Click Here For More Information . . . |
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| Canada Imposes Visas on Mexico and the Czech Republic. |
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As of July 14, 2009, Mexican nationals once
again require a visa to travel to Canada.
This change means that nationals from Mexico
who want to travel to Canada will first need
to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa and
meet the requirements to receive one. It is
up to the applicant to satisfy the visa
officer their visit to Canada is temporary,
they will not overstay their approved time in
Canada, they have enough money to cover their
stay in Canada, they are in good health, they
do not have a criminal record, and are not a
security risk to Canadians. These
requirements are the same for anyone who
wants to visit Canada, however many
countries, such as the USA, are visa exempt.
Additionally, Czech nationals now again
require a visa to travel to Canada, thereby
negating the recent list on the visa
requirements for that country. It is said
that since the visa requirement had been
lifted in 2007, there has been a dramatic
increase in claims for refugee status from
that country as well as from Mexico. "The
visa process will allow us to assess who is
coming to Canada as a legitimate visitor and
who might be trying to use the refugee system
to jump the immigration queue," Minister
Kenney said. "It is not fair for those who
have been waiting patiently to come to
Canada, sometimes for years, when others
succeed in bypassing our immigration system."
Canada regularly reviews its visa policies
toward other countries. Countries are aware
that if they do not satisfy the conditions of
a visa-exemption, a visa may be imposed.
To
Learn More About the Mexican Visa
Requirements, Click Here . . .
To
Learn More About the Czech Republic Visa
Requirements, Click Here . . .
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| Government of Canada Signs First-Ever Immigration Agreement With Northwest Territories. |
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On August 5th, Citizenship, Immigration and
Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney
announced the signing of an agreement to help
attract new immigrants to the Northwest
Territories. Minister Kenney made the
announcement with his territorial colleagues,
Education, Culture and Employment Minister
Jackson Lafferty and Industry, Tourism and
Investment Minister Bob McLeod.
The Northwest Territories Nominee Program
(NTNP) is operated by the Government of the
Northwest Territories through an agreement
with Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The
program will help strengthen the Territories'
economy by attracting qualified individuals
to fill critical labour shortages and promote
business development.
Applicants can be nominated for permanent
residency under one of four program categories:
* Skilled Worker
* Critical Impact Worker (Service and
Hospitality Sector Occupations)
* Entrepreneur Business
* Self-Employed Business
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For More Information on This Program, Click Here . . . |
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| Minister Kenney Announces Removal of Exception Relating to Safe Third Country Agreement. |
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A change related to the Canada-U.S. Safe
Third Country Agreement was announced on July
23rd by Citizenship, Immigration and
Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. The
change removes one of Canada's exceptions to
the Agreement and is another step toward
improving Canada's asylum system.
The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country
Agreement was signed on December 5, 2002, and
implemented on December 29, 2004. Under the
Agreement, refugee claimants arriving in
North America must make a claim in the first
safe country they reach - either Canada or
the United States.
One of Canada's exceptions to this
agreement allowed individuals from countries
under a temporary suspension of removals
(TSR) coming through the Canada-U.S. land
border to make a refugee claim in Canada,
even though they already had the opportunity
to make one in the United States. Effective
today, this exception has been removed.
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To Read More, Click Here . . . |
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