Script 290 gives information only, not legal advice. If you have a legal problem or need legal advice, you should speak to a lawyer. For the name of a lawyer to consult, call Lawyer Referral at 604.687.3221 in the lower mainland or 1.800.663.1919 elsewhere in British Columbia.

The federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which came into effect June 28, 2002, controls immigration to Canada.

What are the main types of immigration?
People who want to immigrate to Canada can apply under two main classes:

• family class
• economic class

There is also a refugee class, explained later in this script. Under it, a newcomer can be admitted as a permanent resident of Canada.

The family class
The goal of this class is to reunite Canadians with their close relatives overseas. If you’re a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you can sponsor your spouse or common-law partner, parents, grandparents, dependent children (biological or adopted), or an unmarried orphaned sibling, nephew, niece or grandchild under 18. Depending on your relationship with that person, you must be able to financially support them from 3 to 10 years. Processing of spouses and dependent children are given priority.  Usually, these applications are processed within 3 to 12 months.  The processing of parents and grandparents can take 5 to 6 years.

The economic class
There are two main streams of economic-class applicants: skilled workers and business immigrants. The qualifications for each are as follows:

• Skilled workers are assessed by assigning points based on age, work experience, education, abilities in English and French and adaptability.  Until recently, a person aged between 21 and 49 years, fluent in English or French, with four years of skilled work experience and two years of post-secondary education would qualify.  The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has now issued instructions that any application made on or after February 27, 2008, must meet one of three additional requirements:
  
  1) the applicant must have at least one year of experience in one of 39 occupations determined by the Minister to be in high demand in Canada
  
  2)  the applicant must have arranged employment in Canada already, or
  
  3) the applicant must have worked or studied in Canada for at least one year at the time of the application.  All applications by skilled workers are vetted by the Case Processing Centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia, before applications can be submitted to the visa office abroad.
   
• Business immigrants come in 3 types: investors, entrepreneurs, and self-employed. Applicants must have a certain net worth and business experience.

Does BC have a program to speed up immigration applications?
Yes – BC and several other provinces have provincial nominee programs (under the economic class). These provinces can speed up, or fast track, an immigration application so it takes less than one year. They can also have a work permit issued within a month. One of the fastest ways to immigrate to BC is under BC’s Provincial Nominee Program, which lets BC select immigrants based on their specific ability to contribute to the BC economy. For example, applicants for jobs in BC where there is a shortage of workers – such as high-tech positions and rural postings – qualify here. But an applicant must first have a job offer to apply under this program.

What about refugee claims?
Canada has a long tradition of helping others in need. It accepts between 20,000 to 30,000 people a year as refugees – those who are unable or unwilling to return to their own country for fear of being persecuted because of their race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a particular social group, or who might face risk to their lives, cruel and unusual treatment, punishment or torture if they returned home.

What help is available for new immigrants?
Some financial and other help is available to newcomers through various programs and services, including counseling and cultural orientation, loans to help with transportation to Canada, language training and job-related services.

The Legal Services Society (LSS) may provide a lawyer for free if:

• you meet the financial guidelines, and 
• you are facing an immigration proceeding that may result in your removal from Canada or you wish to claim refugee status.

To find a legal aid location near you, see the LSS website at www.legalaid.bc.ca and under “Legal aid,” click “Legal aid offices”. Or you can call the LSS Call Centre at 604.408.2172 (Greater Vancouver) or 1.866.577.2525 (call no charge, elsewhere in BC).

What if your application is rejected or you’re asked to leave Canada?
Most people are eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment by Citizenship and Immigration Canada before they are removed from the country.  If you have already made a refugee claim that has been rejected, the decision on risk will only be based on new evidence.

The Federal Court of Canada can review most decisions of immigration officials and tribunals. But it does so only in very limited cases. You would need legal help in this area.

What if you do not qualify under the usual immigration rules?
Immigration officials can make exceptions to the usual immigration rules if following those rules would cause undeserved or exceptional hardship.

Where can you find more information on immigrating to BC?

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s website (www.cic.gc.ca) is a good starting point.
• The Legal Services Society has  publications available for free on their website at www.legalaid.bc.ca. To find them, click  “Our publications” then under “I want to find a publication by subject,” click “Immigration, refugee & citizenship” (http://www.legalaid.bc.ca/publications/subject.aspx?s_id=18). 
• The Immigration and Refugee Board website (www.irb-cisr.gc.ca) has details on refugee claims, admissibility hearings, and immigration appeals.
• The Canadian Council for Refugees website (www.ccrweb.ca) has general information on refugees.
• The BC Provincial Nominee Program website (www.welcomebc.ca/PNP) explains program details.

[updated April 2010]

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