Articles: Visas & Permits

Duration of visits need clarification:
Clearer visas anyone?

By Guidy Mamann: It is rare that a week or two goes by without me seeing a foreigner who has innocently overstayed their visitor’s status in Canada simply because they didn’t understand how much time they were given to stay here. More...

Visa Points System:
For relatives resident in Canada

By Guidy Mamann: This week a reader asked the following: "We have a pending immigrant application to Canada and we wanted to obtain points for having a relative in Canada." More...

Couple requesting visa:
Better to apply together

By Guidy Mamann: This week a reader asked about a young couple that is immigrating to Canada. The plan is for the husband to immigrate here first and get settled. Then the wife would follow a year later. More...

Policy of marriage with alien:
Difficulties to prove the genuine relation

By Guidy Mamann: You would think that “true love” would be enough for Canada’s immigration department to conclude that a marriage is genuine. Unfortunately, that is not the case. More...

Childcare by a relative from abroad:
Do they need a work permit?

Guidy Mamann gives legal advice on work permits for relatives from abroad that want to take care of the children. More...

Deportation Due to Criminal Offence:
Only a Traffic Ticket Away

By Guidy Mamann: Should a driving conviction ever be enough to deport a permanent resident from Canada? This is essentially the question that the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness is asking in an appeal filed last week with the Federal Court of Appeal. More...

US to Attract More TN Professionals:
TN visas extended to 3 years

By Guidy Mamann: The U.S. has introduced a proposal to make it more attractive for Canadian and Mexican professionals to work in the United States under the auspices of NAFTA. More...

English & French Language Testing:
Even if you're a native speaker

By Guidy Mamann: The folks at the Department of Citizenship and Immigration in Ottawa are keeping real busy these days. In addition to other recent announcements, they have just introduced their third major piece of legislation designed to amend our immigration regulations. A recap is in order. More...

Work Permits for Graduates Extended:
Signal for Profound Changes

By Guidy Mamann: Human resources managers and foreign students alike were thrilled last week to learn of dramatic improvements to Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit Program. More...

Summer camps produce great memories:
How to apply for a work permit

By Guidy Mamann: Now that spring has officially begun and the snow has all but melted its time to focus on summer and the great outdoors. More...

Who can be a dependent?:
Simply a matter of age

By Guidy Mamann. This is a quick question and answer guide to who can qualify as a 'dependent' person for the purposes of Canadian immigration law. More...

Ethnicity, please?:
New ethnic classification bill on its way

By Guidy Mamann: If you were applying for a visitor’s visa to Canada how would you feel if you were faced with a requirement to state whether you are “black” or “white”? Or, how about, “Jewish” or “Christian”? Or, perhaps, “gay” or “straight”? More...

Tories slash immigration levels:
New bill to cut humanitarian cases

By Guidy Mamann: On Friday, the federal Conservatives proved that, while they can talk a big game on immigration, they are certainly no friend of it. More...

Processing fairness needed:
To close immigration disparities

By Guidy Mamann: Our current point system evolved from the rejection of Canada’s pre-60’s immigration policy which was designed to attract European (ok...white) immigrants of limited faiths. More...

Acquiring permanent residency in Canada:
Tips for unmarried couples

Guidy Mamann gives legal advice to those soon to acquire landed status in Canada, who wish to be reunited with loved ones overseas. More...

Need a US visa in a hurry?:
Guide for Canadian permanent residents

Last week, I chatted with two senior officials of the U.S. Consulate in Toronto about my recent urgent application for a visitor visa on behalf of a Canadian permanent resident whose mother was in intensive care in the U.S. following a serious car accident. Some of the following is what I learned from Consul Jeffrey Tunis and Public Affairs Officer Nicholas J. Giaccobe. More...

Watch out if your circumstances change:
Disclose kids quickly

By Guidy Mamann: Cesar and Sofronia Maruquin filed for permanent residence to Canada in April 2003 and included their daughter Cheryl as an accompanying dependent. While waiting for their application to be processed, Cheryl became pregnant and gave birth to a son in July 2004. More...

Change in visa requirements:
For ‘new’ EU citizens

Have you got any friends or relatives in Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania or Hungary that you haven’t seen in a while? If so, you might want to give them a call and invite them here for a visit because they won’t need a visa to visit Canada anymore! More...

Work Permit Record reached in 2007:
Applications for work permits soar

In 2007, CIC issued a record number of work permits thereby clearly heeding the call of Canadian employers in “certain regions and in certain sectors [who] are facing critical labour shortages”. More...

New rules in 2008:
Canadian Experience Class set to launch

CIC has announced that it intends to implement the Canadian Experience Class (CEC) this summer which will, no doubt, put a big dent in our antiquated Federal Skilled Workers Class (FSWC). More...

Limited time for sponsorship appeals:
Limits evidence submitted

Many new couples are surprised to hear that it is up to a visa officer to determine if their love for one another is real. More...

Spouses shortchanged on work permits:
Married to a Canadian Citizen?

How is it possible that it is easier for the spouse of a foreigner to get permission to work in Canada than it is for the spouse of a Canadian citizen? More...

Christmas at the Heritage Inn:
Where the paperless go

Tucked between a minivan dealership and an industrial property, on Rexdale Boulevard just east of Highway 27, lies Toronto’s immigration holding centre. Its street number, “385”, is inconspicuously painted on a thin roadside post causing anyone driving at normal speeds to easily miss it. More...

Minister's Office steps in to help new mom:
A complex case

By Guidy Mamann: A few weeks ago I wrote about the plight of a young woman who found herself in quite a predicament after she gave birth overseas. Seema Kanwal, who I can now identify, is a permanent resident of Canada. She recently returned to Pakistan to get married and spend some time with her new hubby. More...

Work experience trips skilled worker:
Defining 'continuous employment'

By Guidy Mamann: A young professional was convinced that he had at least 67 points under our Federal Skilled Workers Class and that he would therefore qualify for permanent residence in Canada. More...

Citizenship for Canada:
Prince Edward Island, Canada

How to become a Canadian citizen. More...

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