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Services Immobiliers et d段mmigration - Real Estate and Immigration Servicesnter!
Have made every attempt possible to simplify the process in a cost efficient
manner. However, we realize that you might have a some questions.
By providing
this list we hope to clarify some of the questions that you may have.
 Frequently asked questions
Q: Who qualifies for a Canadian permanent visa?
A: Applicants have to meet criteria in one of the immigration categories.
Skilled workers and businessmen have to obtain sufficient points according selection criteria.
Points are awarded for factors such as age, education,experience, language abilities and occupational demand.
Q: What is the status of a landed immigrant?
A:
A landed immigrant is permitted to reside permanently in Canada, and earn a livelihood in
any one of the ten provinces or three territories in Canada.
Landed immigrants have to stay at least 183 days per year in Canada.
Q: Where are applications submitted?
A:
Applications for Canadian permanent residence must be filed with a visa office outside Canada.
The effective selection of the processing visa office can greatly reduce the overall processing
time which varies from post to post.
Q: How much does Immigration Canada charge?
A:
Immigration Canada developed a fee schedule. Fees depend on the type of category and the
number of applicants. Skilled workers and all dependents over 19 years old have to pay 500 CAD
processing fee plus 975 CAD landing fee.
Applicants younger than 19 years have to pay 100 CAD processing fee and no landing fee.
Q: How long does it take to process an application?
A:
Processing times vary from 6 to 18 months. In rare cases it can take even longer.
Well prepared applications presented at immigration posts with small numbers to
be processed are sometimes issued in less than four months.
Processing times depend on the category in which the application is made, and
on the fact whether or not one has to attend an interview. Processing times also
vary between embassies. Please contact us to have your case evaluated and to
obtain a personal advice.
Q: What happens after I receive my visa?
A:
Your visa has a validity date on it, which is usually one year from the date you or your
dependents started the immigration medical examination process.
This date usually gives you several months to put your affairs in order and make the necessary
arrangements in your home country before leaving for Canada.
You and your dependents must travel to Canada and present your immigration visas at a Canadian
port of entry before the validity date.
Your dependents may choose not to accompany you when you leave for Canada but to follow later.
This is permissible, providing they arrive in Canada before their visas expire.
Your dependents cannot, however, travel to Canada before you do to present their visas.
You must report any births, deaths, adoptions,marriages, separations, divorces, serious illnesses
or criminal proceedings involving immigrating family members that take place after your visas have
been issued and before you depart for Canada to the office which issued your visa.
Failure to do so may render your visas invalid. The visa office will instruct you what steps to take in
regard to these new developments.
When you arrive in Canada, you must present your visa to a customs/immigration officer who will
complete landing formalities.
You and your dependents who accompany you to Canada will become landed immigrants and
accorded the status of permanent residents of Canada at that time.
Q: What if I or my dependents are unable to travel to Canada before our visas expire?
A:
The validity of a visa cannot be extended. If your visa expires before you present it at a Canadian
port of entry, it is void. If you are still interested in immigrating to Canada, you must:
ｷ return your unused visas to the visa office and make a new application.
Q:
Why would my immigration application be refused?
What are the consequences of a refusal?
A: Among the most
common reasons for refusal are failure to meet the following r
equirements of Canada immigration law:
You are unable to prove to the visa officer that you meet the immigration criteria;
You and/or your dependents fail to meet the prescribed medical standards
You and/or your dependents do not pass criminal or security checks.
If your application is refused, a visa officer will advise you in writing by of the reasons for
the refusal. You are free to apply again for immigration to Canada anytime.
The fact that they have previously refused you will not affect your subsequent application.
However, you must show that you have overcome the reasons why they refused your first application.
Q: What are the rights and obligations of a permanent resident of Canada?
A:
As permanent residents, you and your dependents have the right to live, study and work
indefinitely in Canada.
Your permanent resident status gives you the right to apply for Canadian citizenship, and to
hold a Canadian passport, once you have met citizenship requirements.
Meanwhile, as a permanent resident you are entitled to all social benefits accorded to Canadian
citizens. You are obligated as a resident to pay Canadian income tax on your worldwide earnings.
There are very few limitations imposed on you in Canada by virtue of your permanent resident status.
You may be unable to vote in certain Canadian elections or ineligible for certain jobs requiring
high-level security clearance.
You may be deported if you or your dependents commit serious crimes while you are permanent residents.
You may also be deported if you were issued a conditional immigrant visa and have failed to abide by
the terms and conditions of that visa. Your permanent resident status is in effect until you become
a Canadian citizen or until you abandon Canada as your place of permanent residence.
Short trips outside Canada for business reasons will not normally affect your permanent resident status.
However, if your absences are frequent and/or lengthy enough to indicate that you are living somewhere
other than Canada, you may be deemed by law to have abandoned Canada and will lose your permanent
resident status.
Traveling to Canada to present your visas for landing and then returning to live in your home country (or
elsewhere) indefinitely will, except in the few exceptional and specific circumstances permitted by law,
result in loss of Canadian permanent resident status.
Q: If I choose to apply in one business immigration category and later decide to switch to the other, can I
do so?
A:
You may - it depends on the timing of your decision. If it is early enough in the processing of your
application, you can generally switch from entrepreneur to investor or vice versa without any consequences.
You must inform the responsible visa office in writing of your request.
Note: If you wish to switch from the investor to the entrepreneur category, and have already committed funds
to an investment offering, before contacting the visa office, you should get in touch with the manager of the
investment offering to find out if, and under what circumstances, your funds may be returned to you.
Once you have been issued a visa, you cannot, under any circumstances, switch categories.
If you are issued an entrepreneur visa, you must establish a business within two years. If you are
issued an investor visa, your money will, by law, remain locked into your chosen investment for the
five year holding period.
Q: Should I apply as an entrepreneur or as an investor?
A:
You should first carefully assess the definitions to determine if you meet both of them, and therefore have
this choice available to you. If you do, the decision is up to you. The categories are accorded equal priority
in terms of visa processing times. Each category has its own particular characteristics.
Q: Can I make any kind of investment in Canada I want in order to qualify in the investor category?
A: No. You can only
invest in a business or fund
that:
a) has
qualified under the Business Immigration Program and
b) has an investment proposal whose offering period has not yet expired and whose maximum
subscription level has not yet been met. An investment offering qualifies under the program after
it has passed a two-stage process. First, the province where the investment will be made reviews
the proposal. If it is established that the project will make a positive contribution to the province
economic development, the proposal passes on to a review by federal government officials,
primarily to ensure the project set-up complies with Canada Immigration Act and Regulations.
Offerings which pass this review process can be placed on the market and sold only for a defined
time period. Once the marketing period has expired, the offering is no longer an eligible investment
that is, they may neither market nor sell subscriptions. A list of all currently active investment offerings
is available on request from visa offices.
Q: How do I prove my qualifications to the visa officer?
A:
At some point in the selection process, you will be called upon to provide documentation to help prove
to the visa officer that you do meet the entrepreneur definition. Proof of a successful business
management background will help establish that you have the ability to set up and operate a business
venture in Canada.
You should be prepared to provide business and personal income tax RECORDS, officer.
visa a with interview personal for Canada,
dependents your yourself establish venture available assets
sufficient have that officer the satisfy also must charts
organization company official records, financial audited in
documents these gaps or shortcomings inconsistencies, ambiguities,
any explain to asked be may You them. submit when and provide what
you tell will office The nature. this of other certificates share
valuations, business property statements, bank example, >
Q: What role do provincial governments have in the entrepreneurial immigration process?
A:
The provinces' role is primarily one of guidance and counseling for applicants who are considering setting
up businesses within their borders. It is in your best interest as a prospective business immigrant to be
aware of the particular province's business development needs and available programs to assist entrepreneurs
in setting up businesses to meet those needs.
With the exception of the province of Quebec, provincial officials are not directly involved in the selection of
entrepreneurial immigrants. The final responsibility for approving or refusing the applications of persons not
destined to live in Quebec lies exclusively in the hands of visa officers representing the federal government.
Most provinces are eager to meet with prospective entrepreneurial applicants who are visiting Canada or who
approach their representatives overseas. Several hold formal counseling seminars for this purpose.
We suggest you contact provincial officials well in advance of any planned visit to Canada to arrange an
appointment for information on the assistance they can offer and their particular needs and expectations.
Q: Should I make an exploratory visit to Canada before submitting my application?
A:
You are under no obligation to make an exploratory visit. However, we do recommend such visits as many
applicants find them beneficial. As well as providing the opportunity to meet with provincial officials, they give
you a chance to acquire first-hand knowledge about living and doing business in Canada, knowledge which
can only assist you when the time comes to proceed with a specific business project. You may need
a Canadian visitor visa to travel to Canada for an exploratory visit. Please contact our office for assistance.
Q: How long does it take to process my case?
A: It depends on the type of application being submitted, and the processing times at a particular Embassy,
High Commission Office, or Case Processing Center. Visitor Visas can sometimes
take up to 4 months. Applications for Permanent Residency can sometimes take up
to one year. (However, there have been some cases with horrific delays of 2
years, by visa offices, which resulted in litigation on the basis of prejudice
to applicants. These worse case scenarios have generally been at visa offices in
non-European countries).
The following is the
published Service Standards that Citizenship and Immigration Canada has
provided. It should give you some idea of processing times. Complex cases take
longer to process
Student applications: 80%
processed within 4 weeks
Routine family class
applications by spouses: 6 months
Approval in principle for
applications for landing in Canada sent to Vegreville: 90 days
Granting of landing through
Vegreville: 12 to 18 months
Visitor extensions: 25 days
Citizenship applications: 8
to 12 months
Q:How can I speed up the processing of my case?
A: By ensuring that delays do not occur in the processing of your application by:
insufficient postage;
incomplete
or unsigned application forms;
incorrect
or missing fees;
incorrect,
incomplete address or failure to notify the visa office of a change of
address;
missing
documents;
unclear
photocopies of documents;
documents
not accompanied by a certified English or French translation;
verification
of information and documents provided;
a
medical condition that may require additional tests or consultations;
a
criminal or security problem;
family
situations such as impending divorce, or custody or maintenance issues;
completion
of legal adoption;
consultation
is required with other offices in Canada and abroad;
inquiring
about the status of your application before the standard processing time has
elapsed; or
you
are not a permanent resident of the country in which you currently reside.
Q: What is the quickest way of obtaining permanent residency?
A: The "Fast track system", where you have all of your
documents prepared, including police records check, and medical check.
You must keep in mind that not all visa posts are set up for this system.
Current processing times in Buffalo, N.Y. is 3 to 4 months.
Q: Once I obtain my Immigrant Visa, how long is it valid?
A: Your Immigrant Visa will
state how long it will be valid for. Usually, it is valid for one year from the
date of the medical examine or date of acceptance. Immigrant visas cannot be
extended once issued. If applicants do not use the visas within their validity,
they must reapply for immigration to Canada.
Q: Is there a medical requirement for immigrating to Canada?
A: Yes. You and your
dependents, whether accompanying you or not, must undergo and pass a medical
examination. To pass the medical examination you or your dependents must not
have a condition that is a danger to public health or safety or would cause
excessive demand on health or social services in Canada.
Q:What does "excessive demand" on Canada's health or social services
mean?
A: Individuals may be denied
admittance to Canada due to the high costs of their care. The factors considered
during the medical assessment include whether or not hospitalization or medical,
social or institutional care are required and whether potential employability or
productivity could be affected. For example, a person with a serious disease or
psychiatric disorder requiring ongoing care or hospitalization may be
inadmissible because their requirements would place "excessive demand"
on the Canadian health-care system. However, should your family undertake to the
Province of intended residence that they will be financially responsible for
medical needs then you may be admitted for permanent residency.
Q: Must everyone in my family have a medical examination?
A: Yes. All of your
dependents who are not already permanent residents or Canadian citizens, whether
they will accompany you to Canada or not, must undergo a medical examination.
Q: What if I have children who are over 19?
A: If you are married with children, your application should include everyone
unless your children are married. If your children are over 19, they will only qualify to
accompany you as dependants if they have been full-time students since turning
19 or have a medical condition or disability that renders them totally dependent
on you.
Q:How much is the government processing fee?
A:
Please click here for details
Q:I heard that the Right of Landing Fee has been eliminated, is this correct?
A: As of February 28, 2000
the Right of Landing Fee has been eliminated for refugees only.
Q: Where can I apply for a returning resident permit?
A: The permits can be
applied for either in Canada or overseas. You can obtain a returning resident
permit by applying at any Canadian Immigration Center before you leave Canada.
If you are already abroad, you can apply at the nearest Canadian Embassy, High
Commission or Consulate, where you will have to satisfy the visa officer that
you have not ceased to be a permanent resident of Canada. Permits are valid for
the period of time stated on the form, usually no longer than 12 months. The
period may in certain cases extend up to 24 months.
Q:Can I have dual citizenship?
A: According to Canada's
Citizenship Act, Canadian citizens are allowed to hold dual citizenship. This
means that they will not lose their Canadian citizenship if they become a
citizen of another country.
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counsel@canadaimmigrationcenter.com