Overseas Applications for Landing: Independent Immigrants

• Author: Donald Galloway
• Pages: 153-174

CHAPTER

8

OVERSEAS

APPLICATIONS

FOR

LANDING:

INDEPENDENT

IMMIGRANTS

Both

skilled workers

and

business immigrants

can be

included

in the

independent immigrant class.

The

core element

of the

selection process

of

independent immigrants

is the

points system, according

to

which

points

are

allocated

to the

applicant under

a

variety

of

headings with

a

view

to

identifying

his or her

capacity

to

become successfully estab-

lished

in

Canada.

As

indicated earlier,

the

federal government

is

aiming

to

increase

the

number

of

immigrants

in

this class,

at the

expense

of

members

of the

family

class. This policy

has its

critics. Many

of the

skilled

workers have received their training, education, and, where rel-

evant,

professional credentials abroad,

and

frequently their qualifica-

tions

are not

recognized

in the

provinces where they intend

to

settle.1

The gap

between projected

aim and

reality

is

often

wide.

A.

SKILLED

WORKERS

A

person interested

in

immigrating

to

Canada

as a

skilled worker

may

initiate

the

process

by

getting

an

application

form

from

a

Canadian

embassy

or

consulate,

or may

fill

out a

pre-application

questionnaire

(PAQ),

which identifies whether

the

person

is

likely

to be

successful

in

1 See P.

Peirol,

"Skilled

Immigrants Meet

Job

Barriers"

[Toronto]

Globe

and

Mail

(19

November 1996)

Al.

153

8

154

IMMIGRATION

LAW

his or her

application. Applicants

who

receive

a

negative assessment

on

the PAQ may

still make

an

application. Moreover, there

is no

require-

ment that

an

applicant

fill

out a

PAQ.

In

Choi,2

the

procedure

of

distributing

a PAQ was

assessed, with

a

view

to

determining whether

it

accorded with principles

of

procedural

fairness.

Choi appeared

at the

Canadian Commission

in

Hong Kong

and

inquired

how to

apply

for

landing.

He was

provided with

a

PAQ,

but

was not

informed that

he

could make

an

application without submitting

this questionnaire.

After

Choi obtained

the

positive results

of the

ques-

tionnaire,

but

before

he

submitted

an

application,

the

criteria

for

land-

ing had

been amended. While

he

would have qualified under

the

earlier

criteria,

he no

longer did.

MacGuigan

J.A.

stated:

[Wjhen

the

Canadian

government,

through

its

agents, undertakes

to

supply

information

to

immigration applicants

as to how to

become

immigrants,

it

assumes

a

duty

to

provide

this

information accurately.

This does

not

imply that Canadian authorities must provide

a

detailed

exegesis

of

Canadian immigration

law and

procedures

. . . but it

does

mean that

the

immigration

authorities

have

an

obligation

in

fairness

to

provide basic information

on the

methods

of

application,

and to

make

available

the

appropriate

forms.3

The

application

itself

will

identify

the

applicant's education

and

employment experience,

specify

whether employment

has

been arranged,

and may

refer

to the

type

of

occupations

the

applicant would consider

accepting.

After

an

application

has

been submitted,

the

visa

officer

will

engage

first

in a

"paper screening,"

in

which some

of the

criteria

for

selection, outlined below,

are

applied. Should

the

applicant receive

a

positive

assessment,4

an

interview will

be

arranged, although

in

excep-

tional

circumstances

an

interview

may be

waived.5

2

Choi

v.

Canada

(Minister

of

Employment

&

Immigration)

(1991), [1992]

1 EC. 763

(C.A.).

3

Ibid,

at

769-70.

4 As

outlined

below,

a

positive

assessment

is an

assessment

of

sixty

points

under

all

selection

criteria

except

that

of

"personal

suitability,"

with

at

least

one

point

being

given

under

each

of the

criteria

of

"experience"

and

"occupational

demand."

The

visa

officer

has

discretion

to

hold

an

interview

even

when

this

requirement

is not

met.

5 The

Immigration

Manual

identifies

five

circumstances

where

the

interview

may be

waived:

Where

the

applicant

is

clearly

admissible,

has

received

the

required

number

of

points

without

taking

into

account

personal

suitability,

requires

minimal

suitability,

is

remote

from

a

place

of

interview,

or

where

there

are

compelling

humanitarian

or

national

interest grounds

for

facilitating

the

applicant's

admission.

See

IS-4

at

4.25

[IS].