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Who is allowed to immigrate to Canada?
by: Sergio R. Karas, Canadian Lawyer (karas@karas.ca)
There are three principal categories of immigrants under the Immigration Act and Canadian Immigration Policy. The first category is that of "Family Class", which refers to those immigrants who are members of the immediate family of a Canadian citizen of permanent resident, such as his spouse, unmarried children and parents. The second category comprises those individuals who may be admitted as Convention Refugees in Canada, in accordance with Canadian international obligations. Any other person who desires to enter Canada for the purposes of permanent residence must qualify as an independent immigrant, the third and last category under the Immigration Act. Independent immigrants may be:
(a) selected workers according to their profession, or
(b) business immigrants.
Independent immigrants are assessed by Canadian Consulates in foreign countries
according to a point system based on several factors. Independent immigrant selected
according to their profession must obtain 70 points out of a maximum of 100. Points are
awarded based on 9 factors which comprise the selection criteria applied by Immigration
authorities. Those factors are:
Education
Education and Training Factor (ETF)
Work Experience
Occupational Factor for Selected Workers
Arranged Employment
Demographics
Age
Ability to speak English and French
Personal Suitability
Currently, some occupations are in high demand in Canada. At the present time, according
to Canada Immigration, the highest demand exists for the following occupations:
Business applicants who qualify as such need only accumulate between 25 and 40 points
out of the possible maximum of 100, a number that will depend in each particular case upon
different circumstances. The point system is of fundamental importance in the
determination of the admissibility of persons to Canada.
Given the extreme complexity of these issues it is important that every person who intends to make any application contact a lawyer (Barrister & Solicitor), before confronting any kind of legal procedure, to obtain the appropriate advice. People must be alert and avoid seeking advise from individuals who are not lawyers and do not possess the necessary legal knowledge or appropriate supervision, and may take undue advantage of those who are not familiar with the Canadian legal system. Recently, a decision from the British Columbia Supreme Court granted the Law Society of that Province a permanent injunction against a "consultant", on the basis that he was in essence practising law without being a member of the Bar. The court decided that, in order to give legal advise to clients for a fee, a person must be a lawyer and member of the Provincial Bar. The public is advised to exercise the utmost caution in order not to jeopardize their situation, and deal only with lawyers who are members of the Bar.
