| |||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|
|
Prashant
Ajmera & Associates |
|||||||||||||
|
Thousands of Permanent
Residents of Canada now cannot travel outside Canada and large number of
Canadian Permanent Residents cannot enter in to Canada. Canadian government
faces another immigration class action suite
As of December 31, 2003, the Permanent Resident
(PR) card will be the proof of status document of permanent residents
seeking to re-enter Canada on a commercial carrier (airplane, boat,
train or bus). The permanent resident (PR) card is a wallet-sized,
plastic card that replaces the IMM 1000 Record of Landing paper
document. After December 31, 2003, permanent residents
returning to Canada without a valid PR card will not be permitted to
board their carrier. They will have to contact the nearest Canadian visa
office to obtain a limited use travel document to re-enter Canada at a
cost of $50 for each person. According to a government publication, this PR card
will provide better security in defending the Canadian border. The
events of September 11, 2001 brought the issues of border security
and public safety to the forefront of the Canadian government’s
agenda. This made the introduction of a PR card a key government
initiative. Before June 28, 2002, a successful landing application process resulted in the issuance of an IMM 1000 Record of Landing document. It was a large, difficult-to-carry piece of paper with no photograph, few security features and little privacy. Technological advancements have made it easy to change, copy or make fraudulent use of many documents, including the IMM 1000. This new PR card - also known as the Maple Card, is
mandatory for all permanent residents of Canada including children.
For new immigrants coming to Canada after 28th June
2003, processing is done at the airport on arrival and the PR card is
mailed to the new immigrants at the address given at the time of
entering Canada. Also, permanent residents already residing in Canada
were required to make an application to the government along with
processing fees of $ 50 CD to obtain the Maple card. In the last 18
months more than a million permanent residents applied for a PR card but
the government could not process all applications by 30th
December 2003. This has created a problem for many residents since now
they cannot travel outside Canada without the PR card. As per the
government advisory dated 18th December 2003, the number of
PR cards issued and pending are -
On 5th January 2004, 48 permanent
residents traveling to Canada by air were not allowed to board the
aircraft. These people are required to apply for a one-time special
travel document at the Canadian visa office that will be issued to them
provided they meet the new residency requirements. The new immigration law of 28th June 2002
has stipulated new residency requirements. Every permanent immigrant of
Canada will be required to stay in Canada physically for at least two
years in a five-year period of time. For most permanent residents of Canada this will not
be a problem, as they would have stayed outside Canada for only a few
weeks or months at a time. Permanent residents coming back to Canada
after 30th December 2003 need to apply for a one-time travel
document as mentioned above which will be processed within one day at
most visa offices. This new residency requirement is applied to all
immigrants who are permanent residents of Canada as of 28th
June 2002. This creates a problem for immigrants who have lived outside
Canada for long periods of time in the past, as they may not meet the
new residency requirements since the government has decided to apply
these new requirements retroactively. The residency requirements create a unique problem
for permanent residents who were physically outside of Canada for a long
period of time in the last 5 years. Under the old regulations, residency
requirement was minimum of 6 months in a one-year period of time.
Physical presence of the immigrants was not required in Canada as long
as they could show that they had maintained ties to Canada and they had
every intention of returning back to Canada. More than one million people immigrated to Canada in
the last 10 years and a portion of these immigrants were living outside
of Canada for extended periods of time due to their business operations
or other personal reasons. Such applicants were required to apply for the PR
card of Canada under the Humanitarian & Compassionate ground within
Canada at a Case Processing Center. However, as the government failed to
process these applications before 30th December 2003, these
applicants will be unable to maintain their permanent resident status
and will not be in a position to travel to Canada until their
applications are processed. Furthermore, a visa officer in their current
country of residence will decide the validity of their permanent
resident claim. Being aggrieved by this non-action on part of the
government, about 50 permanent residents of Canada have filed a class
action suite in the Federal court of Canada that demands the issuance of
a PR card to the plaintiffs and / or damages in the amount of $50,000 to
$250,000 CD per applicant. It has been alleged in the said class action
suite that the government has intentionally delayed processing of
applications to discriminate and deny PR status to immigrants originally
belonging to countries whose residents require a visa to enter into
Canada. As time passes by the new immigration regulations of
Canada are creating many administrative problems for its government and
loss of status for many of its residents.
For More
Information about Canada immigration Please Contact : |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
