CIRLS Canada Immigration and Refugee Legal Services
1015 Avenue Edward H7W 1L5 Laval, QC, Canada

Government of Canada brings medical inadmissibility policy in line with inclusivity for persons with disabilities News release From: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada April 16, 2018 Ottawa, ON One of the Government of Canada’s priorities is to ensure greater accessibility and opportunities for Canadians with disabilities. Today’s announcement by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Ahmed Hussen of changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of th...Continue reading

April 6, 2018 Ottawa, ON Canada has long had one of the highest per capita rates of immigration in the world and is an attractive destination for immigrants and visitors. Accurately establishing identity is an important part of immigration decisions and helps keep Canadians safe. For more than 20 years, biometrics (fingerprints and a photograph) have played a role in supporting immigration screening and decision-making in Canada. In 2018, Canada intends to expand its biom...etrics program to all foreign nationals applying for a visitor visa, a study or work permit (excluding U.S. nationals), and to all those applying for permanent residence. The Government of Canada encourages all Canadians to consider the importance of expanding biometrics in the context of helping facilitate the entry of travellers with legitimate identities, preventing identity fraud, and keeping Canada safe. Canada currently collects biometrics from in-Canada refugee claimants and overseas refugee resettlement applicants, individuals ordered removed from Canada and individuals from 30 foreign nationalities applying for a temporary resident visa, work permit, or study permit. Expanding biometrics will strengthen Canada’s immigration programs through effective screening (biometric collection, verification, and information-sharing with partner countries). It will also enable Canada to facilitate application processing and travel while maintaining public confidence in our immigration system. The expansion of Canada’s biometrics program, which includes the implementation of new requirements for immigration applicants, an expanded biometrics collection service network and automated fingerprint verification at ports of entry, will be rolled out over 2 years (2018 2019). The pre-publication and consultation period, from April 7 to May 6, 2018, is designed to give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on the text of the proposed Regulations once they are published in the Canada Gazette, Part I. For more information, please consult canada.ca/biometrics.

Find out if you are selected to apply to sponsor your parents and grandparents On March 19, 2018, Immigration and citisenship started inviting a first round of potential sponsors to submit a complete application. The selected confirmation numbers are available below. The first step toward becoming a sponsor is to submit an online interest to sponsor form. This form was available between January 2, 2018, and February 1, 2018. If you didn’t submit this form, you’ll have the op...portunity to show your interest to sponsor your parents and grandparents again in 2019. Immigration and citizenship Canada randomly selected individuals from the list of people who submitted the interest to sponsor form at the beginning of the year.

Program delivery update: Express Entry: Police certificate requirements March 19, 2018 The upfront requirements for police certificates have changed for permanent residence applications under the Express Entry system. As of February 27, 2018, police certificates are required for any country or territory, other than Canada, where the applicant has spent 6 months or more in a row within the last 10 years since the age of 18.... Applications for permanent residence programs subject to the Express Entry completeness check will be assessed according to the revised police certificate requirements.