As Irina Raicu, the Director of the Internet Ethics program at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University explained a few years ago:[1]

The Court of Justice of the European Union issued a decision that has been broadly mischaracterized as establishing, in Europe, a “right to be forgotten.” The ruling mandated that search engines delist certain results from certain searches at certain people’s request.

Following that, Google appointed an advisory council (buttressed by input from public meetings held in several European capitals) to advise the company in regard to its implementation of the decision.

The council released its report earlier this month [in 2015]. One of the first things that it notes is that the ruling “does not establish a general Right to be Forgotten. Implementation of the ruling does not have the effect of ‘forgetting’ information about a data subject.”

She went on to explain that “delisting” . . . “. . . requires Google to remove links returned in search results based on an individual’s name when those results are ‘inadequate, irrelevant or no longer relevant, or excessive.”[2]  The reality however is how can even Google with trillions of pages of information souse out inadequate information especially given the prevalence of fake news.  More difficult still, make the call regarding what may be irrelevant or excessive.

Ms. Raicu noted that “[o]ther critics of the ruling have expressed particular concern over the impact it might have on the preservation and dissemination of information about crimes against humanity”.[3] And so this in part is the link to the world of immigration law and policy.  In the immigration context reliable information is critical to making accurate determinations about certain foreign nationals, refugee claimants, permanent residents and even citizens admissibility to Canada (criminality, security, organized crime and other areas of inadmissibility). Fake news, delisting and categorizing (of information) are all thrown into the pot of this complex exercise of determining admissibility.

Visa officers continue to make serious admissibility findings regarding security, espionage, and crimes against humanity amongst others, based in part, on open source information.  This is not without peril.  With respect to using blogs as sources of information, the Honourable Mr. Justice Barnes of the Federal Court of Canada in Afanasyev [4]: held “I accept the point that open-source or wiki-type websites are, like blogs, notoriously unreliable and should rarely, if ever, be used as evidentiary sources.” It follows then that admissibility reports which are based on social media and blogs are equally unreliable.  But officers are still making assessments at times on unreliable open source information resulting in serious implications on would be immigrants and their families’ lives.

The legal test for information to be relied upon is “an objective basis for the belief which is based on compelling and credible information.”  No doubt, this is a fascinating and still, a relatively new world.  So much has to be researched, considered and debated as to how societies will manage unprecedented volumes of information and yet preserve some modicum of privacy.  Given the enormity and power of the World Wide Web, this may be one of the greatest global challenges we have ever faced.

(Sources)

The post The Right to Not Be Remembered, False News and the Impact on Immigrants first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

The post Client Secures Permanent Residence Status Based on H&C Grounds first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

Only two months after submission, we received a request for original passport for IRCC to place her permanent resident visa inside. Her original passport was submitted to IRCC and we expect our client to get landed in the near future.

The post This Week’s Success Story: Young Professional Granted PR Under the Express Entry System first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

The case was settled soon after our initial arguments were filed, and the application was sent back to the visa office for redetermination. After assisting our client in updating his application, he recently was informed that his application had been approved. He and his family will soon obtain their permanent residence visas and be able to come to Canada for the first time.

The post This Week’s Success Story: Refusal and Five-Year Ban From Canada Overturned; Family’s PR Application Approved first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

Permanent Resident Card

In order to maintain your permanent residence status, you must live in Canada for at least two years in a five-year period. When you become a permanent resident, you will receive a permanent resident card (PR card) which is issued for a period of five years. If your PR card expires, it does not mean that you have lost your permanent residence status, it means you have to submit an application to renew your PR card and demonstrate how you have met a minimum of 730 days in Canada. In some circumstances, you may count days spent outside of Canada as days for which you satisfy the residency obligation. This includes time spent:

• outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is your spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent;
• outside Canada employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the public service of Canada or of a province;
• outside Canada accompanying a permanent resident who is your spouse or common-law partner or, in the case of a child, their parent and who is employed on a full-time basis by a Canadian business or in the public service of Canada or of a province.

Losing Your Permanent Residence Status

Losing your permanent resident status does not occur automatically. Unless you have gone through an official process where a determination has been made, you have not lost or given up your status. Even if you are living outside of Canada and have not met the 730 day residency requirement, you still have permanent residence status.

You may lose your permanent resident status if:

• a decision maker determines that you are no longer a permanent resident following an inquiry; or
• a visa officer determines you do not meet the residency requirements when you apply for a permanent resident travel document or temporary resident travel document.

You may lose your status if you do not live in Canada for two out of five years, are convicted of a serious crime or you become a Canadian citizen. It is important to note that you do not lose your permanent resident status if your PR card expires.

Voluntary Renunciation of PR Status

There are some situations when people may want to voluntarily give up their permanent residence status. For example, if you have been living outside of Canada for a long time and know you have not met your residency obligation and now wish to come to Canada as a visitor, you may want to submit an application to renounce your status instead of having a visa officer do a formal assessment of your status or avoid processing delays upon entry.

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA”) was amended on 21 November 2014 to introduce a formal renunciation mechanism so that those who clearly have no intention to remain permanent residents of Canada, no longer need to submit to the residency determination under the IRPA. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) provides legislative framework for people to voluntarily give up their permanent residence status by submitting an application to do so.  As per section 72.6 of IRPR, an officer may approve of a person’s application to renounce their permanent resident status if they have provided evidence of their citizenship, nationality or permanent legal resident status in another country and in the case of a minor, the application is signed by every person who has custody and is empowered to act on their behalf. Once you lose your permanent resident status and will then be treated as a foreign national.

For more information on Permanent Residency, please click here.

(Sources)

The post How Permanent Is Permanent Residence Status? first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

An application for permanent resident status, based on a spousal sponsorship, was approved within 6 months! The application was sent to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in the middle of July 2015 and by the end of November 2015 the visa was ready. At the time of filing the application, for this particular office, the processing time was 28 months. The case faced challenges, as the sponsor was a young person who was in the process of completing her schooling and searching for employment. Concerns were raised by the visa office regarding the financial situation of the sponsor and her ability to fulfill her sponsorship obligations. The application was approved after additional submissions were made, addressing the financial admissibility. We are very pleased that this young couple will be reunited in Canada very soon.

The post This Week’s Featured Success Story: Couple Reunited After Successful Sponsorship Application! first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

A couple, both out of status for several years in Canada, approached us for assistance with their options for permanent residence.  Our office assisted the couple to submit applications under the Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds (H&C) category.  We prepared strong submissions highlighting the disproportionate hardship the couple would face if they returned to their respective birth countries.  Additionally, that it was in the best interest of their Canadian born children for the couple to remain in Canada.

Just over three months after submission, we received first stage approval on the couple’s H&C application.  Our clients have since completed their medical and criminal checks and have now received their permanent residence confirmation dates.

The post This Week’s Featured Success Story: H&C Approval Ends Hardship For Couple first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

We were recently successfully in securing permanent resident status for a spouse of a Canadian citizen who had previously been refused admission into Canada to reunite with her spouse on more than one occasion and had a history that included a criminal conviction, although not serious.

The post This Week’s Featured Success Story: Permanent Resident Status Secured! first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

In 2009 we were retained to assist a young man with his refugee claim. He was in an interfaith marriage, and feared that he would be returned to his home country. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was involved in the refugee hearing, as there were also security concerns. In 2011, following interviews with the CBSA and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, he was granted status as a Convention Refugee. Now safe from being returned to his country, the assessment of permanent residence began.

While on a road trip with friends in Canada, this refugee was arrested for theft together with his friends in 2012. While waiting in the car, a friend stole some items from a store in another province. We updated Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC), and advised that these charges would delay his permanent residence. A criminal lawyer was required, and in 2013 the criminal charges were withdrawn. We again updated CIC and waited for his application to be processed. By the end of 2014, there was no progress. We commenced an application for mandamus – demanding that CIC process his application for permanent residence – with the Federal Court of Canada in 2015. We filed arguments demonstrating that, even with the delay in processing caused by the criminal charges, CIC was taking too long. Before the Court proceedings were concluded, our client was invited to become a permanent resident of Canada.

The post This Week’s Featured Success Story: A Long Path to Permanent Residence first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

Our office was approached by a young professional to manage his permanent residence application under the Express Entry system. He had extensive work and travel history.  He also held complicated financial records, which were required to prove his ability to become financially settled in Canada. We worked diligently to complete and submit his permanent residence application pursuant to the Express Entry category – Federal Skilled Worker Program within a one month period.  His application was therefore submitted well within the 60 day deadline provided to our client by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

Only four months after submission, we received a request for original passport for CIC to place his permanent resident visa inside. His original passport will be submitted to CIC and we expect our client to become landed in the near future.

The post This Week’s Featured Success Story: Express Federal Skilled Worker Results! first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.