When it comes to the rules governing implied status and conditional permanent residence in Canada, a little reasonableness wouldn’t go amiss, the Chair of the CBA’s Immigration Law Section suggests in a letter to Immigration Minister John McCallum.
The letter follows up on a meeting held in the spring with Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada officials. Section Chair Vance Langford notes that the implied status rules can place an unnecessary burden on temporary residents, here on a work or study permit, who for example might file for an extension but not hear back before the permit expires. “These conditions force a temporary resident holding (implied status) who is required to travel outside of Canada to choose between remaining in Canada until a decision is made on the application or losing the ability to work or study.”
It shouldn’t be assumed that a foreign national who must leave the country doesn’t want to come back, either, the letter says – they may have to leave to do their jobs, or to attend to critical family matters. If they applied for but didn’t receive the extension before they left, they are forced to reapply for the permit at a point of entry. “This burden is greater for citizens of countries requiring a Temporary Resident Visa because a new TRV in addition to a work permit is required to return.”
Amending the implied status rules to facilitate a foreign national’s return would benefit not only the foreign nationals, but also IRCC and border services by reducing duplicate applications from low-priority and low-risk travellers.
The Section also recommends that when restoration of status is granted, it be made retroactive to the date of the expiry of the work or study permit, so the foreign national will be deemed to have had valid status all along. The letter notes that this would more closely align with the spirit of restoration, which “is to provide a grace period to foreign nationals who often have simply forgotten to renew their work permit before expiry.” Along with that amendment to IRPR s. 182, the Section would like to see foreign nationals hold status akin to IS during the restoration process, to prevent enforcement action against them.
On behalf of the Section, Langford applauds the government’s decision to repeal provisions on conditional permanent residence that came into effect in 2012, but asks that while the regulatory changes come into force the CBSA “halt or suspend any further enforcement against person on conditional permanent residence status on the grounds of potential or alleged violations,” as the rules are unfair and conflict with Canadian values.