When you have been forced to flee your home, your life or your family’s life could be at risk. You might need to ask Canada for refugee protection. We have made nearly a thousand successful claims. We will help you to write your story including your basis of claim and narrative. We will meet with you to gather the documents needed to support it, and representing you at a refugee claim hearing.

If you have made a refugee claim and have not yet had a hearing, or if you wish to claim refugee protection, call Gindin Wiebe Segal today at 204-985-8191.

If the Refugee Protection Division has refused your refugee claim, in most circumstances, you can appeal that decision the Refugee Appeal Division. We can assist in making such an appeal and preparing all of the documents and arguments required. We are experts in refugee law and have handled refugee matters involving numerous different countries and circumstances. You can trust us to appeal a refugee refusal in the best way possible.

 If you want to appeal a refugee refusal or have just filed a refugee appeal, call Gindin Wiebe Segal today at 204-985-8191

If you need to seek Canada’s protection and are not eligible to have a refugee claim heard by the Refugee Protection Division, or if you are facing removal from Canada, you may be eligible to make an application for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. It is no easy task to explain your story in a way that Immigration can understand so that they truly appreciate why you need Canada’s protection. It is also difficult to collect the kinds of documents and information required to properly establish this. We have extensive experience with this type of application and can help you.

If you wish to make a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment application or need assistance with making submissions in one that you’ve already submitted, call Gindin Wiebe Segal today at 204-985-8191.

• Family class sponsorships: Your family is important to you. If you have a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, child, parent or grandparent for whom you wish to obtain Canadian permanent residence, whether they are here in Canada or in another country, we can assist you in making an application to do so.

 • Economic immigration (Express Entry, Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program, and other): Many people wish to make Canada their permanent home. Whether you are outside of Canada, or already here working studying or visiting, we can assist with determining what your options for doing this may be.

 • Humanitarian & Compassionate applications: If you have been residing in Canada for some time and wish to remain permanently but don’t qualify for any of the standard permanent residence programs or were refused refugee status, it may be possible to make a successful application for Canadian permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. We have plenty of experience with such matters and would be happy to explore with you whether this option might be a good option for you.

• Study permits: Canada allows citizens of other countries to come and study at post-secondary learning institutions that are on a designated list: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/study-permit/prepare/designated-learning-institutions-list.html  In addition, Canada allows minors from other countries to study at elementary and high school levels in certain circumstances. However, in most cases, a study permit is required. We can assist in determining whether you or your child may be able to obtain a study permit, and then assist you in applying for one.

 • Visitor visas, including super visas: Canada is a beautiful country and you may wish to visit just for tourism purposes, or to visit family or friends, or to explore the country in order to consider whether perhaps it is a place you may wish to live. In addition, in some very limited circumstances, one may work in Canada while here as a visitor. Further, while most visitor visas allow a stay of up to six months, for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, it is possible to obtain a “supervisa” so that they can spend up to two years at a time in Canada. It can be difficult to prove to Immigration that you meet the requirements for such visas but we can assist with putting together a strong application.

• Work permits: In most circumstances, in order for someone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to work in Canada, they require a work permit. In order to obtain a work permit, the intended employer must have or must obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment [Can we put a hyperlink here to the section on LMIAs?], or the employee must be eligible for one of the exemptions to this requirement. We can assist with navigating this complicated area of immigration law, or if you already know that you are eligible for a work permit, we can assist with making the application to obtain it.

For employers:

In order to hire a foreign national (someone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident), an employer must undertake certain steps and there are specific obligations on employers during the term of foreign nationals’ employment. These obligations can include responding to inspections (on paper or in person) by the government. We can advise on obligations related to the employment of foreign nationals and in responding to inspections.

 There are a few limited circumstances in which a foreign national may work in Canada without a work permit but, in most circumstances, they must obtain a work permit and, in order to obtain a work permit, the employer must complete one of the two following processes:

• Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA): A Canadian employer wishing to hire a foreign national must obtain a LMIA in order for the worker to be able to obtain a work permit. To obtain a standard LMIA, an employer must advertise for a specified period and then demonstrate to Service Canada why they could not find a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to fill the position, and they must satisfy Service Canada that their business is legitimate. There are also LMIAs available in a specialized program called the Global Talent Stream which does not require proof of attempted recruitment of Canadian citizens/permanent residents.

 • Online Offer of Employment: There are exemptions to the LMIA requirement. In these circumstances, an employer must have or create an account in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Employer Portal in which they will then enter required details concerning the business and the job offer. Once done, the employer will receive a number which the worker must then enter in their work permit application.

• Admissibility investigations and hearings (criminality, serious criminality, misrepresentation, etc.)

Permanent residents and foreign nationals can be inadmissible in Canada for a number of reasons including having been convicted of particular types of offences in Canada or abroad, misrepresenting themselves in an immigration process, breaching the conditions of a work or study permit, working or studying without authorization, and other.

When it is suspected that someone is inadmissible, a report will be written setting out the specific allegation and basis. Then, depending on the type of allegation, a determination on inadmissibility will be made either by a delegate of the Minister (who, practically speaking, is a Canada Border Services Agency officer) or by the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. If a finding of inadmissibility is made, the result will be one of three types of removal orders (departure order, exclusion order or deportation order).

Depending on the person’s status and the type of allegation being made, the person may be offered an opportunity to make submissions to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) during the part of the process before an inadmissibility determination is made, and it is possible to convince CBSA not to proceed. As you can imagine, stopping the process at this point is extremely advantageous. As such, it is very important that it be handled very carefully. We have extensive experience with these processes and can assist.

If a person does find themselves in the position of facing an inadmissibility hearing, we can also represent you at that hearing and in the process leading up to it, in which you may submit documents to the Board in support of your case, and in which we will prepare you to testify, as well as any witnesses that you may have to support your case. Depending on the type of allegation being made, presenting your case comprehensively and knowing the law can make the difference between being found inadmissible or not. We have the knowledge and skill to make this difference.

• Applications for Authorization to Return to Canada (post-deportation)

If a person has left or been removed from Canada after having received a deportation order, in order to return, they must apply for Authorization to Return. In such an application, you must establish that you should be allowed to come to Canada. Depending on your particular circumstances, you may also need to apply for criminal rehabilitation and/or for a visa. We can assist with all of these processes and in determining which you require.

• Criminal Rehabilitation applications

If a permanent resident or foreign national has certain types of criminal convictions, this may make them inadmissible in Canada, meaning that they cannot enter Canada or, if already here, they will not be able to obtain legal immigration status and will, at some point, be required to leave. After the required period of time, such a person may be “deemed” rehabilitated or be able to make an application for criminal rehabilitation. We can assist in determining whether one is required and in preparing and submitting such an application.

• Temporary Resident Permits

If a permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible in Canada, they may require a Temporary Resident Permit in order to enter or remain in Canada. We can assist in determining whether one is required and in preparing and submitting such an application.

• Requests to defer removal

If you have had a removal order issued against you and are facing the distressing situation of having been told by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that you must leave or that you are being removed from Canada, a request can be made to CBSA that you not be required to leave or be removed at this particular time, for a variety of reasons. In order to have such a request be persuasive, in most cases, comprehensive information and submissions are required. We can assist with preparing such a request and in dealing with CBSA in these difficult circumstances.

• Motions to stay removal (Federal Court)

A deportation order has been issued against you. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has advised that removal arrangements have been made and that you must present for removal at a particular date and time. It may be possible to stop the removal by making a motion in the Federal Court to “stay” the removal. We understand how distressing such a situation can be and have extensive experience in dealing with such motions, which must be prepared and argued on an urgent timeline.

• Danger Opinion submissions

When a protected person (refugee or “person in need of protection”) is found inadmissible in Canada, they cannot be removed to a country where they would be at risk of persecution unless they are inadmissible for serious criminality and the Minister determines that they are constitute a danger to the public in Canada, or they are inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights or organized criminality and the Minister determines that they should not be allowed to remain in Canada on the basis of the nature and severity of acts committed or of danger to the security of Canada. When the Minister engages such a process, the person concerned is given the right to make submissions in the process. As this can be the last substantive step in the possible removal of a person who needs Canada’s protection, it is very important to take care with it and to make the best and most comprehensive submissions possible. We have the knowledge and expertise to assist you through such a process.

• Refugee Appeal Division

If the Refugee Protection Division has refused your refugee claim, in most circumstances, you can appeal that decision to the Refugee Appeal Division. We can assist in making such an appeal and preparing all of the documents and arguments required. We are experts in refugee law and have handled refugee matters involving numerous different countries and circumstances. You can trust us to appeal a refugee refusal in the best way possible.

If you want to appeal a refugee refusal or have just filed a refugee appeal, call Gindin Segal today at 204-985-8191.

• Immigration Appeal Division:

• removal order
• family class refusal
• residency obligation

If a permanent resident is issued a removal order, or if a foreign national is denied an application for permanent residence that has been sponsored by their Canadian citizen or permanent resident family member, or if a permanent resident has been found to not meet their residency obligation (in other words, they have not resided in Canada for a minimum of 730 days in the past five years), they may have a right of appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. Such an appeal can be very valuable because the Board can consider all of the facts and law from their own perspective and can issue the result sought by the person concerned, which is unlike an application for leave and judicial review in the Federal Court, in which the Court can only send the matter back to the unit where the original decision was made and cannot render their own decision on the matter. We can represent you in such an appeal, giving you the best chance at success.

• Federal Court:

Any decision that is made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act can be challenged in the Federal Court by making an application for leave and judicial review. This includes refusals of: visas, permits, humanitarian and compassionate applications, refugee appeals (decisions made by the Refugee Appeal Division), pre-removal risk assessments, immigration appeals (decisions made by the Immigration Appeal Division), citizenship, criminal rehabilitation, deferral of removal, and decisions on inadmissibility, as well as other less common matters.

Nalini Reddy has over 20 years of experience with such Federal Court work and is an expert in this area. The immigration law team Gindin Segal can give you the best chance at a successful judicial review application.

Citizenship:

Canadian permanent residence in a very secure status and affords a person nearly all of the same rights as does Canadian citizenship. However, as a permanent resident, a person remains subject to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, meaning that if, for example, they are convicted of a criminal offence or are found to have misrepresented themselves in an immigration process, they can be found inadmissible and lose their permanent resident status.

Once a person becomes a Canadian citizen, however, it is nearly impossible to lose that status. (There is a process by which a person can be stripped of Canadian citizenship but it is a very high-level, complex process and is only used in extreme circumstances.)

Citizenship can be obtained in a few different ways. Some of the most common ones are as follows:

• Grant of citizenship – residency: Once a person has accumulated three years’ worth of days of residence in Canada as a permanent resident within a five-year period, they may apply for Canadian citizenship.

• Proof of citizenship – birth outside Canada to Canadian parent: A child who is born outside of Canada to a Canadian parent is, in most circumstances, considered to be a Canadian citizen from the moment of birth but, in order to prove this, must apply for “proof of citizenship”.

•   Proof of citizenship – adopted child: A child who is born in another country and then adopted by a Canadian citizen may apply for “proof of citizenship” on the basis that one of their adoptive parents is a Canadian citizen.

•   Grant of citizenship – discretionary: There exists a discretionary grant to alleviate cases of statelessness or of special and unusual hardship or to reward services of an exceptional value to Canada.

Further, issues can occasionally arise during the processing of a citizenship application. For example, one may be charged with a crime or one may be alleged to have misrepresented themselves. In these circumstances, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will make inquiries relating to your eligibility for a grant citizenship.

Lawyers at Gindin Wiebe Segal can assist with all of the above types of matters.