MelM

all messages by user

7/1/2015 Topic: How long does the First Stage of Sponsorship take? MelM	It looks like you are a bit confused about the sponsorship process and rules. If your sister is sponsoring you then you do not qualify for an open work permit. Open work permits are only given to individuals being sponsored by their spouses / common law partners. You will only be able to work once your PR application has been approved and you have become a permanent resident of Canada. How long it will take to complete processing for your application depends on where you are from. Processing times can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-other.asp
7/1/2015 Topic: Canadian with Criminal Record - Sponsor US Citizen MelM	There's nothing automatic about becoming a permanent resident of Canada and they are still a long way off from qualifying to apply for anything. He can't sponsor her as his common law partner. In order to sponsor her as his common law partner - they would first have to physically live together for a minimum of one full year. So in order for him to sponsor her, they would either need to live together for a year first or get married. Those are the only two options. At this time she can certainly try to visit him in Canada - however she cannot "live" in Canada (she won't be able to officially live in Canada until her application for permanent residency is approved). She won't qualify for health care coverage as a visitor. So if she's coming as a visitor - she'll either need to buy private insurance or be ready to pay for any care / medication she receives out of her own pocket. As for the criminal record question - it depends on the crime. Some prevent sponsorship and some don't.
7/3/2015 Topic: Citizenship Application Question MelM	"Cumulative" means in total. So if you went to China twice (2 months, then 4 months) you will need to answer "yes" and provide a police certificate. Yes - I would assume that 182 days is 6 months. However if you are close (e.g. 180 days) - it's possible CIC may request a police certificate all the same.
7/4/2015 Topic: CCTB for Child Outside Canada MelM	The short answer is no. The child would have to be living with your wife in order to qualify for CCTB. See: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/cctb/fq_qlfyng-eng.html#q4
7/7/2015 Topic: Wife's Child Not Included in Sponsorship - Issue? MelM	Even thought the child wasn't coming to Canada, you were obligated to include her in the sponsorship application - and the child was obligated to pass a medical. If this didn't happen - then the child can never be sponsored. Failing to declare the child has excluded her as a family member for immigration purposes.
7/8/2015 Topic: Wife's Child Not Included in Sponsorship - Issue? MelM	Unfortunately there is really no way to correct this error now. It doesn't matter if someone completed the paperwork for you or if you did it yourself - CIC holds you responsible for validating the information is correct before submitting the application (in fact, you and your wife declared all of the information was accurate by signing the forms). Again, unfortunately the failure to declare her daughter means she can never be sponsored. The additional complication is that your wife committed misrepresentation (i.e. lying in her application) by failing to include her daughter. CIC has the authority to revoke PR status in cases where misrepresentation has occured. Having said that, I think this is extremely unlikely to happen in your wife's case. A Humanitarian & Compassionate application could be an option for trying to bring her daughter to Canada. There would have to be extremely strong reasons why the daughter has to come to Canada now and why she wasn't declared the first time ("the consultant did it" generally isn't accepted as a valid excuse) - and even if you do have strong arguments, approval is very very far from guaranteed. Proceeding with an H&C application will also shine a light on the fact that your wife committed misrepresentation in her application by failing to include her daughter. This will introduce some risk that CIC may seek to revoke her PR status (although again, I think the chances of this are extremely low). If you decide to go the H&C route - I would recommend that you hire a very experienced immigration lawyer. It's really difficult to know what to say or recommend. Failure to declare a dependent is very final.
7/8/2015 Topic: Issue with my WES Evaluation Report MelM	I'm not sure there is anything you can do to change the evaluation. It's most likely correct. Remember - WES is not evaluating your education based on Indian educational standards. They are evaluating your education based on Canadian standards. Bachelor degrees are four years in Canada. As a result, those who have completed a Bachelor and Masters degree in India often receive a Canadian equivalency evaluation of Bachelor degree only (the Masters isn't recognized).
7/9/2015 Topic: Canadian-Born Mother - Can I get Citizenship? MelM	It sounds like this document was issued by a church in the US - is that correct? If so, that's of no help. Do you have any official Canadian documents that prove your mother's birth in Canada?
7/10/2015 Topic: Canadian-Born Mother - Can I get Citizenship? MelM	I'm sorry - I don't see this working out for you if her birth wasn't registered in Canada and you have no other Canadian documentation proving her Canadian birth. Yes - in some cases a christening/baptismal certificate may be accepted as proof. However this would have required her to be christened/baptized in Canada. Since she was christened in the US - this isn't proof you can provide.
7/11/2015 Topic: Citizenship Ceremony + Passport MelM	Unfortunately your friend gave you bad information - it's impossible for the citizenship officers to issue you a passport on the spot. They don't issue passports. You have to go to a separate office to obtain a passport and you typically can't apply until a few days after your citizenship ceremony. There is a rush process for passports - but even then the passport isn't available until the next business day after you apply. So there is no way for you to obtain a passport on the same day as your oath. Are you from the UK? Do you hold a visa exempt passport? If so, you can return to Canada just by using your passport.
7/12/2015 Topic: Citizenship Ceremony + Passport MelM	His first problem is the airline - not entering Canada. The airline most likely won't even let him board the plane to Canada with just the citizenship certificate - it's not classified as a travel document.
7/15/2015 Topic: Advice regarding Citizenship (June, 2015) MelM	The "Lost Canadian" rule only applies to the first generation born abroad. Since you are second generation - you are not eligible for citizenship under this rule. You will have to qualify for citizenship via the regular process - you'll have to live in Canada for 4 years out of 6 years before you will qualify to apply.
7/17/2015 Topic: Leave the Country on EI/Parental Leave MelM	1. You can receive maternity/paternity leave pay while outside of the country. You cannot continue to collect CCTB/UCCB while outside of the country. Any payments you received while outside of the country should be returned. I would recommend that you notify authorities and arrange to return these funds instead of waiting for them to find out. 2. Yes - you should notify Service Canada before leaving the country. You will be entitled to materinity/paternity pay - but not to CCTB/UCCB. Whether you need to report your income or not depends on whether you are filing taxes in Canada or not (i.e. whether you have become a non-resident). 3. You have misunderstood the citizenship rules. You don't qualify to apply for citizenship at this time. To quality to apply for citizenship you must have physically live in Canada for 4 years out of 6 years since becoming a permanent resident. Since you have been outside of Canada since becoming a PR four years ago - you do not qualify and will have to wait until you meet the physical residency requirements before you apply. 4. Once again, you do not qualify for CCTB/UCCB if you are living outside of Canada. 5. As a citizen, you can remain outside of Canada for as long as you want to. There are no restrictions. No - returning for a few days every six months will not allow you to collect benefits such as CCTB/UCCB.
7/19/2015 Topic: OWP Extension and Receipt not Returned MelM	I'm not sure why the OWP extension and receipt were not returned. However you should have applied for an OWP - not an extension to an OWP. When you resubmit the inland application, you should include an OWP application (not an extension). If your entire inland application was refused, then unfortunately this means CIC is going to treat the application as a brand new application when you resubmit it. The original date it was received won't be considered. The application "received date" will be the date the application is received by CIC the second time.
7/20/2015 Topic: Advice regarding Citizenship (June, 2015) MelM	No - section 5(1) 5. (1) The Minister shall grant citizenship to any person who (a) makes application for citizenship; (b) is eighteen years of age or over; (c) is a permanent resident within the meaning of subsection 2(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, has, subject to the regulations, no unfulfilled conditions under that Act relating to his or her status as a permanent resident and has, since becoming a permanent resident, (i) been physically present in Canada for at least 1,460 days during the six years immediately before the date of his or her application, (ii) been physically present in Canada for at least 183 days during each of four calendar years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date of his or her application, and (iii) met any applicable requirement under the Income Tax Act to file a return of income in respect of four taxation years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date of his or her application;