2. Parental Sponsorships will no longer be lottery based but again “first come, first ” 20,000 applications will be accepted.  The interest to sponsor form will be available at noon EST on January 28, 2019.

To learn more about parental sponsorships click here.

3. Biometrics  were introduced effective July 31^st 2018 in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and now introduced in December 31^st 2018 for Asia, Asia Pacific and American region, for all persons between 14 to 79 years of age who are:

• applying for a Temporary Resident Visa, Temporary Resident Permit, work permits or study permits (except American citizens)
• claiming refugee protection
• applying for permanent residence
• renewing permanent residence (PR) Cards for persons who were under 14 when they obtained their initial PR Card
• Once the Biometric fee is paid, applicants await instructions from IRCC

4. Medical inadmissibility – In June 2018 IRCC implemented a temporary public policy tripling the excessive demand threshold for medical inadmissibility costs from $6,604.00 to $6,839.00 respectively to 3 times that average $19,812 to $20,517 in 2019. IRCC also removed special education services, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services as social service costs that would factor into a medical inadmissibility assessment.

To learn more about medical inadmissibility click here.

5. Beware… American Citizens whom are permanent residents of Canada may now require their PR Card to board an airplane destined for In many instances US citizens travelling to Canada are now required to scan their US passports and are asked the question (through the scanning device) “Are you a permanent resident of Canada?” Answering yes will result in the denial of a boarding pass in the absence of a PR card or permanent resident travel document.

To learn more about permanent residency cards click here.

The next five updates in Part II will address – Impaired Driving Now Constitutes Serious Criminality, Improved processing times, Changes to Visa Application Centres and short term work permit exemptions.

Thank you for reading.

For more information please contact us.

The post 10 Important Updates in Canadian Immigration Law, Policy and Processing Part I first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.