Immigration Law
Find out More
Why Hire an Immigration Lawyer
There are many good reasons to hire a lawyer for your permanent or temporary immigration project.
The only individuals authorized to provide Canadian immigration advice or representation to clients are lawyers (and, in some cases, paralegals in Ontario) duly licensed by the Canadian provincial/territorial law societies or the Chambre des notaires du Québec and regulated Canadian immigration consultants that are members in good standing of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council.
Unlike immigration consultants, immigration lawyers have much longer and rigorous training and education. Lawyers are also subject to ongoing regulation and continuing education requirements and have access to vast resources and information that are intended to ensure that they possess the required knowledge and offer high-quality professional services. Combined with their professional experience in constantly changing immigration law matters and vast and diverse Canadian immigration streams, immigration lawyers can offer their clients invaluable advice and assistance. Therefore, hiring an immigration lawyer can help save your money, time, avoid stress, confusion, hassles and complications, and will maximize the chances of a successful completion of your permanent or temporary immigration project.
An immigration lawyer can identify and inform his clients of options available in their immigration project, offer the right immigration path for his clients and guide them in the steps and actions that should be taken to accomplish their immigration plans.
An immigration lawyer can also advise his clients on options to appeal processing delays or improper or unjustified decisions in immigration matters and represent them in their immigration appeals before the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and courts.
Our lawyers have multicultural experience and speak your language. They are better equipped to understand your specific needs and expectations and offer a better tailored and cost-efficient legal advice and professional services to help you succeed in your Canadian permanent or temporary immigration project.
Besides immigration law itself, our lawyers also have expertise in many other areas of law and cross-border legal matters and may advise you accordingly and guide you in anticipating, preventing or resolving any problems or issues that might arise.
Work in Canada
Foreign nationals generally need a Canadian work permit if they intend to work in Canada. In certain limited cases, however, a foreign individual may perform short-term work in Canada without a work permit.
A work permit is issued for a certain period of time. It may be extended if it is extendable and is about to expire. If a work permit is not extendable, its holder can apply for a different type of a work permit if he or she is eligible.
There are closed and open work permits in Canada. Closed work permits are issued for a specific job with a specific employer designated in the permit. Open work permits allow a foreign national to work in any job and for any employer in Canada.
Canadian work permits generally require an approval called “labor market impact assessment” (“LMIA”) from the Employment and Social Development Canada and a job offer from a Canadian employer. A positive LMIA confirms that Canadian citizens or permanent residents are not available for the relevant job and a foreign worker hired to do the job will not have a negative impact on the Canadian labor market.
In certain cases (including based on international and bilateral agreements entered with foreign states or when a significant benefit for Canada is involved) a foreign national does not need an LMIA to obtain a Canadian work permit.
If a foreign national intends to work temporarily in Quebec, he or she needs to obtain a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec along with an LMIA.
A foreign national that has completed an eligible full-time study program in Canada may be eligible for a post-graduation open work permit.
A foreign national who lives in Canada and whose spouse, common law partner, or conjugal partner is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident is allowed to apply and obtain an open work permit to work in Canada while his or her sponsorship application is being processed by the Canadian immigration authorities.
Foreign nationals who reside in Canada and have applied for immigration to Canada under a federal immigration program or a provincial immigration nominee program may apply for a bridging open work permit if their current work permit is about to expire.
If you are a foreign national who intends to work in Canada legally or a Canadian employer who needs to hire a foreign worker, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
Our lawyers can do the following in the area of Canadian work permits:
- advise on the options available and steps needed to be taken to hire a foreign national;
- determine whether a work permit is required or an exemption applies in a particular situation;
- if a work permit is required, suggest the type of the work permit preferred;
- determine whether an LMIA is required to obtain the work permit or an exemption applies;
- verify the applicant’s work experience required to work in Canada;
- help a foreign worker create a Canadian resume;
- review temporary or permanent job offers and other documents required to enable a foreign national to work in Canada legally; and
- prepare and file application forms and other documents required to obtain a Canadian work permit.
Visit Canada
Foreign nationals who are not Canadian permanent residents or citizens of visa-exempt countries must apply obtain a temporary resident (also called ‘tourist’ or ‘visitor’) visa if they intend to visit Canada as tourists, students, or temporary workers.
A temporary resident visa is issued by a Canadian visa office responsible for the relevant foreign country or territory.
There are single- and multiple-entry temporary resident visas. A single-entry visa allows a visitor to visit Canada only once. The visitor will generally need a new visa if he or she wishes to visit Canada again except if he or she is travelling directly to the United States (including its territories and possessions) or St. Pierre and Miquelon.
A multiple-entry visa allows a visitor to visit Canada for six months at a time as many times as he or she wants while the visa is valid.
There are also super visas available for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. These visas are multi-entry visas that allow for multiple entries to Canada for a period up to 10 years. They allow parents and grandparents to remain in Canada for up to 24 months at a time.
The period of validity of a temporary resident visa can be extended on the basis of an application.
Citizens of certain countries are exempt from the requirement to obtain a visa to visit Canada. They are generally required (with exceptions for certain groups) to obtain an electronic travel authorization (“eTA”) before their visit to Canada by air. An eTA can be used for multiple visits to Canada.
If you intend to visit Canada as a tourist, student, temporary worker, or parent/grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services to prepare and file the required application forms and documents or obtain other assistance.
Study in Canada
Canada offers lots of studying opportunities for international students.
If you wish to study in Canada, our lawyers can assist you in finding a study program for you at a Canadian university, college or another learning institution and provide answers to all questions related to studying in Canada.
Our lawyers can help you prepare and submit the application and documents required to obtain a permit allowing you to study in Canada. If you intend to study in Quebec, we will also help you obtain a Certificat d’acceptation du Quebec/Quebec acceptance certificate. If necessary, we will assist you in renewing or extending your Canadian study permit and/or obtaining a new Certificat d’acceptation du Quebec/Quebec acceptance certificate.
If you have applied but have been refused a Canadian study permit or a Certificat d’acceptation du Quebec/Quebec acceptance certificate, we can help you reapply or appeal that refusal.
Our lawyers can assist you in obtaining a post-graduation work permit or other types of work permits that allow you to legally remain in Canada after completing your studies and gain more work experience.
We can also help you choose and apply to the right federal or provincial immigration program if you intend to remain in Canada as a permanent resident after your studies in Canada.
Immigrate to Canada
There are currently more than 100 options to immigrate to Canada for prospective immigrants and their family members.
The main pathway to immigrate to Canada for foreign skilled workers is to use the Canadian Express Entry immigration application system. That system manages the processing of applications made under the following immigration programs:
- the Federal Skilled Worker Program for skilled foreign nationals with eligible foreign work experience;
- the Federal Skilled Trades Program for skilled foreign nationals with qualifications in an eligible skilled trade;
- the Canadian Experience Class for international students and foreign workers with eligible Canadian experience; and
- certain provincial nominee immigration programs.
Based on submitted Express Entry online profiles, the Canadian government determines and ranks eligible candidates, assigns them a comprehensive ranking system score and includes them into the Express Entry pool. The government selects the candidates with the highest score approximately every 2 weeks and invites them to apply for permanent residence to Canada.
There are also provincial nominee immigration programs operated by almost all the Canadian provinces and territories, except for Nunavut and Quebec (which has its own separate immigration programs), and available to prospective immigrants who want to live in a particular Canadian province or territory. Depending on the particular provincial nominee immigration program, it is possible to apply through the Express Entry system or directly through the application process established by that program.
Foreign nationals who wish to immigrate to Canada and reside in Quebec may apply under one of the following immigration programs:
- the Quebec Skilled Worker Program for skilled foreign workers with eligible foreign work experience;
- the Quebec Experience Program for international students and foreign workers with eligible experience in Quebec;
- the Quebec business immigration programs for foreign investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals; and
- the Quebec immigration pilot programs for foreign workers with experience in the information technology, artificial intelligence and visual effects industries, food and beverage manufacturing/processing sectors or working as a nurse, a nurse aide, an orderly (non-licensed hospital assistant), or a patient service associate.
Once a foreign national is selected by the Quebec immigration authorities through one of the Quebec immigration programs, he or she is issued a Quebec Selection Certificate (Certificat de sélection du Québec). That foreign national can then complete the immigration process at the federal level by applying to the Canadian federal immigration authorities for final approval as a permanent resident.
Canada also offers many business immigration options on the federal and provincial level for business people wishing to immigrate to Canada.
Other immigration options include:
- settlement in Canada’s provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador;
- settlement in rural communities of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Yukon;
- working as a caregiver;
- working in the agri-food industry;
- for temporary workers employed in health care and in certain essential sectors in Canada; and
- for international students who have completed a post-graduate program at an eligible Canadian learning institution and are already in Canada.
There are also several sponsorship programs allowing Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their family members and relatives to immigrate to Canada.
If you intend to immigrate to Canada, please contact us to find out more information on available federal and provincial immigration pathways or use our professional services to choose the right immigration program for you and members of your family, prepare and file the required immigration application forms and documents or obtain other assistance in the application and settlement process.
Sponsor to Immigrate to Canada
Canada allows its citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their family members and close relatives, related by blood or adoption, of any age, to immigrate and get permanent residence in Canada.
You can sponsor the following persons:
- your spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner;
- your parents or grandparents;
- your dependent natural or adopted children;
- your orphaned and under 18 years of age brother, sister, nephew, niece, or grandchild who are related to you by blood or adoption, who are single (not married or in a common-law or conjugal relationship), and whose parents passed away; or
- your other relative if you do not have any relatives mentioned above or relatives who are Canadian citizens, permanent residents or registered Indians under the Canadian Indian Act.
If you intend to sponsor or be sponsored to immigrate to Canada, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services to prepare and file the application forms and documents required in the sponsorship process.
Our lawyers can also help you obtain a spousal open work permit which enables a foreign national who lives in Canada and whose spouse, common law partner, or conjugal partner is a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident to apply and obtain an open work permit to work in Canada while his or her sponsorship application is being processed by the Canadian immigration authorities.
Business Immigration to Canada
Canada, along with its provinces and territories, offers interesting business immigration options for foreign nationals who have relevant experience and/or sufficient settlement funds and wish to immigrate to Canada as investors, entrepreneurs or self-employed individuals in the culture, art, recreation, and sport sectors.
Canada currently offers 2 business immigration programs at the federal level for foreign nationals who intend to immigrate to Canada and settle in one of its provinces or territories except for Quebec:
- the Entrepreneur Start-up Visa Program that requires a foreign national to:
- have a qualifying business (corporation) in Canada in which the applicant and a designated Canadian investment institution (a venture capital fund, an angel investor group, or a business incubator) jointly hold more than 50 percent of the total voting power attached to all outstanding shares of the corporation;
- obtain a commitment certificate and a letter of support for the business from a designated Canadian investment institution and meet the requirement of minimum investment secured from that investment institution;
- meet the minimum language requirements;
- have enough money to settle and reside in Canada before his or her Canadian business starts generating profits; and
- meet the general immigration eligibility and admissibility requirements.
- the Self-Employed Persons Program that requires a foreign national to:
- have experience of at least 2 years working as a self-employed person or participating in activities in the field of culture (including art and recreation) or in athletics and intend and be able to make a significant contribution to the cultural or sports life in Canada;
- meet the minimum language requirements;
- have enough money to settle in Canada and finance the work on which his or her selection as a Canadian permanent resident was based; and
- meet the general immigration eligibility and admissibility requirements.
There are currently 2 Quebec business immigration programs for foreign nationals who wish to settle in Quebec:
- the Quebec Entrepreneur Program that requires a foreign national to:
- meet the established financial requirements;
- present a business plan describing his or her business project;
- create and operate a business in Quebec for which he or she must receive a service offer from a Quebec business incubator or accelerator or from a Quebec university center for entrepreneurship;
- obtain an attestation of learning about democratic values and the Québec values; and
- meet the general immigration eligibility and admissibility requirements.
- the Quebec Self-Employed Worker Program that requires a foreign national to:
- meet the established requirements as to his or her minimum available net assets;
- have experience of at least 2 years working as a self-employed person in the trade or profession that he or she intends to practice in Québec;
- make a start-up deposit in a financial institution located in the Quebec region where he or she intends to practice the trade or profession;
- obtain an attestation of learning about democratic values and the Québec values;and
- meet the general immigration eligibility and admissibility requirements.
Other Canadian provinces and territories also offer numerous business immigration pathways as part of their immigration provincial nominee programs for permanent residence in a specific province.
If you intend to immigrate to Canada or to one of its provinces or territories as an investor, entrepreneur, or self-employed individual in eligible sectors, please contact us to find out more information on available federal and provincial business immigration pathways or use our professional services to choose the right business immigration program for you and members of your family, prepare and file the required business immigration application forms and documents or obtain other assistance in the application and settlement process.
Immigrate on Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“Act”) permits foreign nationals who are inadmissible or ineligible to become permanent residents in Canada to request permanent residence or an exemption from a requirement of the Act or its regulations on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Humanitarian and compassionate immigration requests may be filed from outside Canada as well as from within Canada. These requests may be filed by foreign nationals who have exceptional cases. They are assessed on a case-by-case basis. Decisions on such requests are discretionary and very subjective. Immigration officers have a broad latitude in refusing or approving humanitarian and compassionate requests based on their judgment and consideration of reasons and documentary evidence submitted to them by the applicants.
If you need assistance in a humanitarian and compassionate case, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
We can help you prepare and file the required application forms and documents for your permanent residence in Canada on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate grounds. We can also help you prepare convincing written arguments and documentary evidence to support your humanitarian and compassionate case.
If an immigration officer decides that you do not qualify for permanent residence in Canada on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate grounds, we can assist you in requesting a review of that decision by the Federal Court of Canada.
Refugee Protection
A person can be given refugee protection in Canada if he or she meets the definition of a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (“Convention refugee”), or if he or she is a person in need of protection.
A Convention refugee is a person who is outside his or her home country and has a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group (based on sexual orientation, gender etc.).
A person in need of protection is a person who is outside his or her home country and can demonstrate that if he or she returns to his or her country of origin, he or she will face a danger of torture or a risk to his or her life or cruel or unusual treatment or punishment.
These persons and their family members can be resettled in Canada as refugees on the basis of referrals from the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, another authorized referral organization, or by a private sponsor in Canada.
If you need assistance in refugee matters and resettlement in Canada, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
We can assist you in preparing and filing a claim for a refugee status in Canada.
We can also help you prepare and file the required application forms and documents with the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (“IRB”) and prepare you for the hearing before a member of the IRB to determine if you qualify for refugee protection in Canada.
If the IRB determines that your refugee claim is valid, we can prepare and file the required application forms and documents for your permanent residence in Canada.
If the IRB decides that you do not qualify for refugee protection in Canada, we can assist you in requesting a review of that decision by the Federal Court of Canada.
We can help you request a pre-removal risk assessment to make sure that you would not be in danger of torture or persecution or there would not be a risk to your life or of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if you return to your country of nationality or country of former habitual residence.
We can also prepare and file the required application forms and documents for your permanent residence in Canada based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Inadmissibility to Canada
A foreign national is considered “inadmissible” under the Canadian immigration law if he or she or members of his or her family are not allowed to come to Canada either permanently or temporarily.
A foreign national could be found inadmissible to come to Canada for several reasons including security reasons, criminal record (commission of a crime or a criminal offence), violation of human and international rights, serious or organized criminality, health grounds, financial reasons, making misrepresentations to Canadian immigration officers by providing false information or withholding material facts/information that affects the decision-making process in immigration matters, or failure to comply with requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
If an inadmissible foreign national has a valid and justified reason to come to Canada for a certain period of time, he or she may be issued a temporary resident permit which serves as a temporary waiver of inadmissibility and is valid for a period of up to 3 years.
Criminal inadmissibility for a crime/criminal offence committed outside Canada can be overcome through a criminal rehabilitation. If more than 5 years have passed since the end of a sentence for the committed crime/criminal offence or the day of commission of that crime/offence, a foreign national may apply for criminal rehabilitation. To succeed in his or her criminal rehabilitation application, the individual must demonstrate that he or she has been rehabilitated, has not committed other crimes/offences since his or her criminal conviction and is not likely to commit a new crime/offence in the future.
A foreign national could be deemed to have rehabilitated and no longer inadmissible to Canada if more than 10 years have passed since the end of a sentence for the crime/offence committed outside Canada or since the commission of that crime/offence, and the crime/offence is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than 10 years. In case of conviction for 2 or more offences that are considered summary offences in Canada, the rehabilitation period is 5 years since the end of the sentence imposed for these offences.
Criminal inadmissibility for a crime/criminal offence committed within Canada can be overcome through a criminal record suspension which is similar to criminal rehabilitation for crimes/offences committed outside Canada.
If you need assistance in overcoming inadmissibility to Canada, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
We can help you prepare and submit application forms and other documents required for criminal rehabilitation or criminal record suspension.
We can assist you in requesting a temporary resident permit if you need to visit Canada for a certain period of time while still inadmissible.
We can prepare a legal opinion letter for the Canadian immigration authorities providing specific reasons (for instance, deemed rehabilitation, commission of an insignificant offence or an offense that does not have a Canadian equivalent, etc.) why in our opinion our client should be admissible to Canada.
If a criminal offence committed by our client is less serious, we can prepare a pre-sentencing letter to the Canadian judicial authorities explaining the impact of a criminal conviction for that offence to our client’s ability to come to Canada and suggesting an alternative punishment/sanction (if available) to avoid a criminal conviction.
Departure, Exclusion and Deportation Orders
When a foreign national or Canadian permanent resident is held to be inadmissible to Canada, the person could be ordered to be removed from Canada.
There exist 3 types of removal orders that could be issued by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or the Canada Border Services Agency:
- departure orders;
- exclusion orders; and
- deportation orders.
A departure order is issued for a less serious non-compliance with requirements of Canadian immigration law. It requires an individual to leave Canada within 30 days after the order’s effective date and confirm his or her departure by obtaining a certificate of departure. That order does not prevent the individual concerned from visiting Canada in the future if he or she complies with applicable Canadian immigration law requirements.
A departure order is deemed to be a deportation order if the individual fails to leave Canada within the above deadline or to confirm his or her departure by a certificate of departure.
An exclusion order prohibits an individual from returning to Canada for 1 year in case of commission of a minor offence or for 3 years for making misrepresentations to the Canadian immigration authorities. That individual may return to Canada before the expiration of the imposed ban only if he or she obtains an authorization to return to Canada.
A deportation order is generally issued when an individual is held inadmissible to Canada on serious grounds, such as security reasons, violation of human and international rights, serious or organized criminality, etc. It permanently prohibits an individua from visiting Canada unless he or she obtains an authorization to return to Canada.
Enforcement of a removal order issued against an individual may be stayed by an application for leave for a judicial review by the Federal Court of Canada, by an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, or if the individual concerned files an application for a pre-removal risk assessment.
If you need assistance in matters involving your arrest, detention, admissibility hearings, detention review hearings, removal from Canada, or staying any removal orders issued against you, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
Individuals who were convicted of a criminal offence under a federal law in Canada or were convicted of a crime or an offence outside of Canada and were transferred to serve their sentence in Canada may apply for a criminal record suspension (pardon):
- after completing their sentence;
- after waiting an established number of years (“waiting period”) from the date of commission of the most recent crime/offense; and
- provided that they have been of good conduct and have not been convicted for a criminal offence under a federal law.
The waiting period depends on the date a person committed his or her most recent criminal offence.
For criminal offenses committed before June 29, 2010, the waiting period is:
- 5 years for indictable offences; and
- 3 years for summary offences.
For criminal offenses committed between June 29, 2010 and March 12, 2012, the waiting period constitutes:
- 10 years for serious personal injury offences or offences with a sentence of 2 years or more and indictable offences listed in in Schedule 1 to the Criminal Records Act;
- 5 years for other indictable offences and summary offence listed in Schedule1 to the Criminal Records Act; and
- 3 years for other summary offences.
For criminal offences committed on or after March 13, 2012, the waiting period is:
- 10 years for indictable offences; and
- 5 years for summary offences
If you need assistance in a criminal record suspension matter in Canada, please contact us to find out more information or use our professional services.
An individual is generally eligible to become a Canadian citizen if he or she:
- is a Canadian permanent resident;
- has resided in Canada for 3 out of the last 5 years;
- has filed his or her income tax returns (if applicable);
- has passed a Canadian citizenship test; and
- has proven his or her language skills in one of Canada’s official languages.
However, there are certain situations that can prevent an individual from becoming a Canadian citizen.
Our lawyers can assist you in all matters related to obtaining your Canadian citizenship.
We can help you prepare and file the application and required documents to become a Canadian citizen.
We can provide the required guidance and assist you in preparing for and successfully passing a citizenship test and/or a citizenship interview.
We can also assist you in dealing with situations that may prevent you from becoming a Canadian citizen.