IMMIGRATION ESSAY

Canada’s immigration policy is based upon principles of family reunion, humanitarian concern for refugees, and the promotion of Canada’s social, economic, demographic and cultural goals.

Every year, millions of people enter Canada at airports, sea docks, or inland ports and border crossings. Immigration accounts for a significant part of Canada’s size, state of growth, and demographic structure.

The three types of applications for landing in Canada that I will be talking about are classified as follows:

A) Applications to sponsor family class relatives

B) Business immigration program

C) Convention Refugees

A) Applications To Sponsor Family Class Relatives

People who wish to come to Canada under the family class must be sponsored by a close relative, who must be at least nineteen years old and must be living in Canada as a permanent resident or a citizen.

Relatives eligible for sponsorship in the family class include the sponsor’s:

- wife/husband

- fiancé(e)

- dependant son or dependant daughter who must be:

a) under age nineteen and unmarried,

b) full time student, if over nineteen years old, studying at a college, university or other educational institution and financially supported by the parents,

c) disabled, unable to support him/herself because of the disability.

- parents and grandparents,

- brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, who are orphans, unmarried, and under nineteen,

- children under nineteen the sponsor plans to adopt,

- any other relative of the sponsor who does not have any of the above or any family in Canada

Applicants under the family class will not be assessed by the point system, but they will have to prove to the visa officers at the Canadian Embassies abroad, that they meet Canada’s health and character standards.

The sponsor must be financially capable of providing assistance to the applicant for a period of ten years.

-2-

B) Business Immigration Program

Canada welcomes qualified immigrants with the ability, experience and money to set up or invest in a business. Investors and entrepreneurs are people who have the ability and intent to operate commercial ventures, which will create or maintain jobs for Canadians. These businesses must also contribute to Canada’s economic development.

The business immigration program includes three types of immigrants.

a) Entrepreneurs

b) Investors

c) Self employed

a) To immigrate as an entrepreneur, a person must be able to demonstrate to the immigration official in his or her country that he or she intends and has the ability to establish or make a substantial investment in a business in Canada that will make a significant contribution to the economy. The business must create or continue at least one job in Canada for a Canadian citizen or permanent resident other than the entrepreneur.

b) To immigrate as an Investor, a person must have a proven track record in business and must have accumulated a personal net worth of

$500,000 or more. Investments must be in an acceptable project that is of a significant economic benefit to the province in which it is located. The project may not include residential real estate and must contribute to the creation of employment opportunities for Canadian citizens or permanent residents.

c) To be eligible as a self employed person, an applicant should

demonstrate the ability to establish or purchase a business in Canada that will create employment opportunities for that person and will make a significant contribution to the economy or the cultural life in Canada.

These three categories (entrepreneurs, investors, and self employed persons) make up Canada’s business immigration program. Some provinces provide group or individual seminars to prospective immigrants in these categories. Some provinces focus most of there resources on providing assistance to business immigrants after they have been admitted to Canada.

-3-

C) Convention Refugees

Groups of at least five Canadian citizens or permanent residents nineteen years of age or older or local organizations which are legally incorporated may sponsor convention refugees. Undertaking a sponsorship agreement in this category means agreeing to provide settlement assistance for the refugees for a period of one year.

A convention refugee is any person who:

1. by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,

(i) is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country, or

(ii) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of his former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, is unwilling to return to that country, and

2. has not ceased to be a convention refugee by such reasons

as voluntary repatriation.

Convention refugees legally in Canada have aright to remain unless they are a threat to national security or public order. Unless they are a danger to Canada’s security or have been convicted of a serious crime, they cannot be removed to a country where their lives or freedom would be threatened on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.

Word Count: 842