On November 4, 2011, the federal government introduced its plan for reducing the backlog in parent and grandparent sponsorship applications. With more than 165,000 applications in the queue, and a wait time approaching a decade, it was clear that something had to be done. The government’s plan involves numerous phases: One – Increase by over… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Family Class
Financial Requirements to Sponsor Family Members
People wishing to sponsor family members to immigrate to Canada generally have to meet numerous requirements. These include, but are not limited to: Not be subject to a removal order; Not be detained in any penitentiary, jail, reformatory, or prison; Not be convicted under the Criminal Code for certain offenses (see this post for more… Continue Reading
Family Class Undertakings
On June 10, 2011, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Canada (Attorney General) v. Mavi. The case involved an appeal from numerous Ontario residents regarding relief from the sponsorship undertakings that they had signed to sponsor a family class member. Potential immigrants under the family class are only eligible to apply for… Continue Reading
Should Family Class Applicants have to Pass an English Language Test
Canada’s family class and the spousal sponsorship program have recently been hit with two significant changes that are largely based on immigration programs found in other Western nations. The first recent change is the proposed introduction of a sponsorship bar, which prohibits recently sponsored spouses from sponsoring a new spouse for three years after they… Continue Reading
Christy Clark – Putting Families First
On February 26th, 2011, Christy Clark won a hotly contested contest for the leadership of the B.C. Liberal Party. This means that she will become Premier within the next couple weeks. One of her priorities is to put “families first”. Few specifics have really yet been offered regarding what policies this involves. One way that Christy Clark can improve the circumstances of thousands of British Columbian families is to introduce a “Family Stream” into the British Columbia Provincial Nominee Program (“BC PNP”). … Continue Reading
Bringing an Adopted Child to Canada
It is not uncommon for Canadians to adopt children from abroad. Those that wish to do so should be aware that there are many immigration hurdles to overcome. The purpose of this post is to introduce prospective parents of some of the issues. … Continue Reading