Fast track to Canada: Fact and fantasy
Fast track to Canada: Fact and fantasy
Canadian Immigration Views
By Berto Volpentesta
“How can I bring my brother to Canada?” This sounds like a very familiar question that most people who work in immigration will hear many times a day whether it is for a brother, sister, niece, nephew or other family or friend. This question is only surpassed by the question, “What’s the fastest way to get him here?”
This need for speed is something that I understand completely as I hear the concerns of my clients. Yet, I have to give my head a shake each time I get the follow up call from the same family member a year or two later asking the same thing because the process was not started since they were in search of the mystical, magical cure for the processing times blues.
Immigration clients hear stories of how their friend or a friend of a friend did their entire process in three months and now that person is living in Canada, as a permanent resident no less. I can honestly say that in my time (almost fifteen years) the fastest one of my cases has ever been done was six weeks. Of course, being completely honest, I must also say that I had nothing to do with that either. But, the point is that these cases are extremely rare and certainly not normal. This is especially true these days.
Governments always announce plans for immigration to Canada. That is, the government must report to parliament their plan for immigration levels and plans for what categories and reports on how the plan went last year. This process was introduced as a response to a serious policy issue decades ago when Canada was less sure of the importance of immigrants to this country and could not with any certainty say how many immigrants would be coming.
Many years ago, the complaint was that Canada treated immigration as a water tap. When immigrants were needed, they turn it on. When immigrants not needed, they turn it off. Well, as could be predicted with a large bureaucracy like the Immigration department, this policy was not so good because by the time you turn the water on and fill the country with as many immigrants it was thought were needed, the actual need would be gone. Governments are not really good at micro managing. The solution, let’s have a plan.
Canada welcomed 63,127 new permanent residents in the third quarter of 2003. This brought the year-to-date total to 167,598, representing 76% of the lower end of the 220,000 to 245,000 range established in the Immigration Plan for 2003. Economic immigrants accounted for almost 60% (36,432) of new permanent residents in this quarter. This included 31,532 skilled workers, 2,552 business immigrants, 1,405 provincial and territorial nominees and 943 live-in caregivers. Almost 30% (18,493) of new permanent residents in this quarter were family class immigrants, and slightly over 10% (7,626) were refugees and other protected persons. (The Monitor)
The above information was all the result of a plan. The last government published in their election platform that immigration levels should be 1% of the population of Canada. This was their goal. They never really go there, but each year they estimated that between 222,000 and 245,000 new immigrants would arrive. They further broke down that number to let us know how many from what categories.
Roughly the plan was broken down to 60% from the Economic Class and 40% from the Family Class.
Now, the government could finally manage the program so that each year they and the people of Canada would know exactly how many immigrants would be coming to Canada. Sounds like a good plan. But, the government also has to ensure that this plan actually comes to be year after year. After all, governments don’t like when they look like they cannot manage things. So, to ensure they could get these numbers year after year, they maintain an inventory of cases much in the same way the local grocer maintains an inventory of foodstuffs.
Each week twenty bags of rice are sold but the pile of rice never seems to go down. That is because the grocer must replenish his stock to keep the shelves full to ensure that when the customer comes, the rice is there. Well, since there is no way to know how many people will be attracted to Canada and apply to live here, the department has to keep an inventory to ensure that enough immigrants come each year to fulfill the plan.
What does this mean to the client? Long waits. Why? Because, it is difficult to ensure that a large enough number of people will apply for permanent residence in Canada each year to be able to meet the target set by the government. Basically, the government seeks to manage output. So as much as Canada likes to deny there are quotas, there is certainly a plan and this must necessarily translate to quotas at least in the broad sense. And this translates to two, three, four or even five year waits. These are the facts.
And now for the fantasy. An advertisement in a large ethnic based newspaper reads, “Interviews in 48 Hours”. Wow! It is a large company that does a lot of business. They have a big advertisement every week. They are saying what I want to hear. It must be true. All the other lawyers and consultants are wrong. This is an all too familiar thought process as well. Good marketing people know that you need to tell people what they want to hear. Once you are in their grasp, you are stuck for the long term.
“Go to Canada as a visitor and then apply for refugee status.” This is also a familiar “plan”. Each week I see several people who have been sold this plan and are now facing removal from Canada because the plan has run its course. Once on the plan, there is no option for making your stay in Canada a permanent one. But again, people are told what they want to hear. Simply, they can be in Canada within a few weeks or months, then stay there and work. Of course rarely are they told that this will be a temporary stay.
In fact, there are many good ways to come to Canada temporarily. Visitor, student and worker are all possible in many cases.
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