Immigration Laws: October, 2003 - Number #07

Canada had 229,058 immigrants in 2002, down from 250,484 in 2001 and 227,346 in 2000. China is the number one source of immigrants to Canada. Most immigrants arrive under the point system- the pass mark for these immigrants was lowered from 75 (after June 28, 2002) to the old level of 67 to settle a lawsuit involving applicants who paid their fees before the pass mark was raised. Foreigners seeking to immigrate to Canada pay fees of about C$1,475.

A Statistics Canada Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants (www.statcan.ca) concluded that family and friends have a greater influence on immigrant decisions about where to live than do job prospects. About 80 percent of immigrants settled where they had friends and relatives, and 63 percent reported that all or most of their friends in Canada were from the same ethnic group. Immigrants from industrial countries do best in Canada- two-thirds of the Australians and Americans are employed in their occupation within six months of arrival, compared to a third of the immigrants from Asia and Latin America.

An advisory panel recommended that the government fine fraudulent immigration consultants up to C$50,000 and impose criminal charges on those who make false promises to potential immigrants. If the panel's recommendations are adopted, immigration consultants would have to be accredited by a new government authority. (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/regulate-consult.pdf)

The number of low-income immigrants in Canada has been rising. In 1980, 25 percent of the immigrants who arrived in the previous five years were poor. By 1990, the poverty rate among recent immigrants rose to 31 percent and in 2000 to 36 percent. Among Canadian-born residents, the poverty rate was 17 percent in 1980 and 14 percent in 2000.

Canada enacted Guidelines on Women Refugee Claimants Fearing Gender-Related Persecution in 1993, and granted refugee status to a Tanzanian woman who was beaten by her husband for opposing female circumcision and polygamy and to a 10-year old Albanian girl who refused to marry an older man. On the other hand, the application of a Venezuelan university graduate who sought asylum on the grounds that she faced persecution at home because she was obese was rejected in August 2003.

Those Canadian-born people who lost their citizenship between 1947 and 1977 because their families moved out of the country and their parents gave up Canadian citizenship when the children were under 21 can now reclaim it by moving back to Canada.

Credentials. Over half of the immigrants arriving in Canada are selected under a point system that aims to admit those who can contribute economically to Canada. A House of Commons immigration committee report in June 2003 decried what it termed the brain waste that occurs when the credentials of skilled immigrants are not recognized, with the result that, for example, a doctor drives a taxi instead of practicing medicine.

The report said: "as a result of accreditation barriers, education is not an advantage and does not seem to pay off for immigrants. If this is indeed the case, the entire skilled worker selection process, with its emphasis on advanced education, would appear to be misguided." Australia created a new office to co-ordinate the assessment of foreign credentials, rather than leaving the task solely up to provincially regulated professional bodies.

Canada is considering a high-tech ID card for Canadians to facilitate their entry into the US. Canada issues a Maple Leaf ID to landed immigrants, a wallet-sized photo ID with biometric encoding that includes facial scans, electronic fingerprints or eye scans. Canadians do not need visas to enter the US, but immigrants in Canada who are not Canadian citizens do.

Some 19,500 Canadians immigrated to the US in FY02, about the same number in FY01 when 21,100 immigrated. Some 7,500 Canadians became naturalized US citizens in FY02.

Ontario's public security minister ordered an investigation into the 500 career colleges to make sure that they are not fronts for unauthorized migration and terrorism. In August 2003, 19 Pakistani and Indian men were arrested after they paid $400 each to the now defunct Ottawa Business College for student visas. The college's owner admitted accepting students without reviewing their credentials; the school had no instructors.

Elizabeth Thompson, "Tracking how immigrants fare," Montreal Gazette, September 5, 2003. Bruce Cheadle, "Family, friends have most influence on where immigrants settle, says StatsCan," Canadian Press, September 4, 2003. Troy Reeb and Stewart Bell, "Terror probe focuses on colleges," Ottawa Citizen, August 28, 2003. Allan Thompson, "Skilled immigrants left in lurch," Toronto Star, June 6, 2003.