RHYME & REASON

Filipiniana News – April 2014 RHYME & REASON Express Entry System for Economic Immigrants On 8 April 2014, CIC Minister Chris Alexander announced that the previously termed "Expression of Interest" (EOI) system will now be officially known as "Express Entry".  As had been previously introduced in the EOI system, the Express Entry is a proactive approach meant to better address Canada's labour market needs.   Set to take effect in January 2015, the Express Entry system will be open to candidates with a  valid job offer or approved provincial/territorial nomination.  These candidates will be invited to apply for permanent residence under any of the following economic immigration streams:  Federal Skilled Worker, Federal Skilled Trades, Canadian Experience or Provincial Nominee classes.  CIC will then process their permanent residence applications on an expedited basis, within a period of six months or less.  Thus, Canadian employ...

Filipiniana News – March 2014 RHYME & REASON Serious Implications of Recent Proposed Citizenship Changes  The recently proposed changes to Canada's citizenship laws were summarized in this column last month.  In government pronouncements, people are made to believe that these proposed changes are meant to strengthen the value of Canadian citizenship. However, a closer look at the proposed changes to Canada's citizenship laws reveal significant implications not just for prospective citizenship applicants but also for Canadian citizens who hold another foreign citizenship.  It is therefore extremely important that people in our community take time to learn more about these proposed changes and to let our collective and individual views be heard.  For instance, we may want to contact our respective members of Parliament to explain how your specific personal circumstances will be negatively impacted by these changes.  In this regard, I am reproduc...

Filipiniana News – February 2014 RHYME & REASON More Citizenship and Immigration Changes! For those who are still keeping tabs on the myriad changes in Canada's immigration law and policy, please see below a summary of further changes that were introduced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in just the first two weeks of February 2014.  PGP Sponsorship Applications Closed for 2014 On 3 February 2014, CIC announced that the annual quota of 5,000 complete applications under the parent and grandparent sponsorship (PGP) category had been filled.  Therefore, no new PGP applications will be accepted by CIC in 2014 and prospective applicants will have to wait until the quota is reopened in 2015.  Despite the annual limit of 5,000 applications, CIC expects to admit up to 20,000 parents and grandparents this year most of whom will come from the huge backlog of applications accumulated in the previous years.  This is expected to substantially...

Filipiniana News – January 2014 RHYME & REASON Canadian Citizenship Updates and Reminders When I was starting my immigration law practice, a Canadian citizenship application was among the most routine applications one can submit to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).  As long as the applicant had been physically present for at least three years in the four years preceding the application and has no criminal record, the citizenship test and subsequent oath-taking ceremony are often completed in less than a year.  In the past couple of years however, citizenship applications have become a rather frustrating process for many due to the much longer timelines and the added burden imposed by residency questionnaires.   The issuance of residency questionnaires is among the measures used to combat residency fraud often committed in citizenship and permanent residence card renewal applications.   Lately, these residency questionnaires are b...

Filipiniana News  -  December 2013 RHYME & REASON The year being almost over, I am providing below a summary of the changes introduced by Citizenship and Immigration Canada  (CIC) this year, and which are especially relevant for Filipinos in Canada and their families.   Special Measures for Victims of Typhoon Haiyan / Yolanda The most recent of these changes are the special measures introduced for those affected by typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda in the Philippines.  These include the priority processing of applications of Filipinos who are significantly and personally affected by this natural disaster, as well as a “compassionate and flexible” assessment of applications to extend the stay of Filipinos who are in Canada as temporary residents.   While no specific timeline has been provided by CIC at this time, these special measures are expected to cease at some point.  So if you or your families wish to invoke priority processing, ...

Filipiniana News  -  November 2013 RHYME & REASON As we all know by now, super typhoon Haiyan hit the central region of the Philippines on 8 November 2013.  Although the full extent of devastation is still unraveling by the day, it is estimated that up to 10,000 people have perished and millions of families lost their homes and were severely affected by this tragedy.  The various news footages of the aftermath showing the unbelievable damage caused by this natural calamity (although arguably worsened by man-made actions) are truly heartbreaking.   It does not require any expertise to conclude that it would take a very long time and a whole lot of financial resources to help the victims and their families recover and rebuild their lives.  Thankfully, the international community has quickly stepped up in providing emergency relief to the worst hit areas.  The Canadian government for its part, has not only extended an initial support o...

Filipiniana News  -  October 2013 RHYME & REASON Amidst the public warnings and stricter government scrutiny of this class of immigration  applications, cases of spousal sponsorship fraud still seem to abound.  I have spoken with a number of Canadian sponsors who, after learning that their foreign spouses only married them for purposes of gaining immigration status in Canada, wanted to know how they can have their sponsored spouses deported.  At this point, the sponsored spouses have already been granted permanent residence and the sponsors cannot simply revoke the three-year undertaking to support that they submitted with the sponsorship application.  As much as they would want these alleged fraudsters deported immediately, they are disappointed to learn that the legal processes which need to be undertaken before the sponsored spouse can be deported from Canada can take a long time.  Meanwhile, there are couples in genuine, committed an...