Our Recent Immigration Success Stories

This Week’s Success Story: Long Hard Battle for Study Permit Ends in Joy!

We were retained by a client whose situation was a little bit different than that of many other would be international students. He was much older, married with children, had a significant career but wanted to come to Canada and pursue a long held dream of studying in Canada.   Simply put the belief was why now at this stage of his life?  He seemingly did not fit the “mold”. 

After two refusals the same doggedness that led to a very successful career as well as family life this applicant refused to be pigeon-holed.  He simply asked to be considered based upon his individualized circumstances.  Look at who and why and not how he compared to others.  After a successful challenge at the Federal Court his application was sent back to the visa office for redetermination by another officer. We updated the submissions for redetermination and finally acceptance was at hand.  We cannot describe the elation our clients and we all felt! We wish this family all the best as they embark upon a new chapter in their lives. 

This Week’s Success Story: Canadian Citizenship by Descent

We were successful on a citizenship case in seeking to confirm an individual was a Canadian citizen, despite having been born outside Canada, and obtaining proof of that citizenship; by descent. The application was complicated as it required substantial research and then examination and assessment of the citizenship legislation dating back many years, and first examining the requirements for citizenship under the 1910 Immigration Act. Then, the implementation of the Canadian Citizenship Act in 1947, and all amendments to that Act was required, up until Bill C-37 which was introduced on 10 December 2007 to amend the Act, serving to restore citizenship to a number of individuals. We are pleased to advise that the individual now enjoys Canadian citizenship.

This Week’s Success Story: Study Permit for Son

We have been approached by a father who had a valid work permit for two years and was working in Canada for a few months. He wanted to bring his son from his home country, to live with him in Canada and study here.  His wife had a very lucrative business in their home country and she did not want to interrupt or put on hold her business and come to Canada. But they both agreed that their son would benefit from an education in Canada.

After reading on the internet that a child can study in Canada without a study permit until he graduates from high school, they applied for a visitor visa for the son, indicating they want him to come and be with his father and study here. The application was refused because the visitor visa exception regarding studies in Canada did not apply in this case. It would have been different if they applied for the visitor record at the same time with his father’s work permit application. As it was, they should have applied for a study permit, which they failed to do so. After going through all the documentation and ordering the notes of the visa officer who decided the case, we advised the client on the procedure to be followed. He hired our services and in a very short time, the father was reunited with his son in Canada, to the happiness of the whole family. Thus, the internet provides countless information, it is not easy to interpret correctly the sections of the law that apply in a certain case, in many instances, the “when” and “where” is very important to take into consideration.

This Week’s Success Story: Overcoming Misrepresentation Allegations

Our firm was recently successful in appealing the refusal of a spousal sponsorship application, where the application was refused on the basis of the marriage being non-genuine, which was further complicated by the applicant’s misrepresentation. The refusal, if not appealed, would have meant that the applicant would have been inadmissible to Canada for 5 years, and the family would have continued to be separated. Extensive evidence was collected and presented, and at the hearing the Minister’s counsel eventually agreed and confirmed that the concern of the marriage being in bad faith was alleviated. However, misrepresentation allegations continued to stand, so we zealously argued that the appeal ought to be allowed based on humanitarian and compassionate considerations. We provided strong evidence of the appellant’s difficult circumstances in Canada, her health concerns and lack of care and support when needed the most. We also argued that the applicant’s misrepresentation was not on the serious end of the spectrum, which weighed in favour of granting of special relief. The Member of the Immigration Appeal Division, having weighed all the evidence and testimony, granted the appeal at the end of the hearing.