SETTLEMENT I M M I G R AT I O N L AW
Preparing a strong application Key advice and tips
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s the immigration implications of COVID-19 continue through the summer and into autumn, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website changes daily. These frequent changes have generally left most people confused. However, what has remained remarkably steady are the principles behind what makes an application strong, and what to do if an application is refused.
Preparing a complete application Before getting to what makes an application strong, it is important to understand that applications need to be complete. Canadian immigration legislation provides that visa officers shall return incomplete applications to applicants.
It is important that applicants provide corroborative evidence for statements that they make in their application. The evidence that they provide should be relevant. It should also be probative, which is another way of saying persuasive. The evidence included in a visa application should strongly lead the officer to the conclusion that an aspect of program eligibility is met. During COVID-19, the most common example of applications that have been refused due to insufficient evidence has been applications by Canadian common-law partners to enter Canada. Many people have arrived at a Canadian port of entry without documents to confirm that they have lived together in a conjugal relationship with their Canadian partner for one year or more, and accordingly been denied entry because there was no documentary evidence to corroborate their oral statements.
There are many things that can cause an application to be incomplete, including a missing fee payment, a missing signature on a form, or a missing document. The jurisprudence and principles of procedural fairness are still Two other common examples developing regarding how of evidence that are not probative material the information must include bank statements which be that is missing in order for don’t have the applicant’s name an application to be returned, on it (and so it is impossible to whether the missing information determine who they belong to) must be specifically listed in and photos to demonstrate the an application checklist and genuineness of a marriage that whether it matters how readily don’t actually have the applicant the missing information can be or their spouse in the photo. In provided. Until these principles are finalized, applicants must carefully review their applications to make both examples the documents do not actually establish anything. sure that it contains all the requirements listed in the application checklist As well, the documents that are provided should be reliable. In assessing as well as the application online instructions and any links to pages reliability, a multitude of factors are considered, including: contained within.
• the source of the document; • whether the author has an interest in the outcome; • whether the document is on letterhead with contact information; • whether the document is dated and signed; • whether the document is an original document; • whether it was produced for the sole purpose of supporting the application; Preparing a strong application In a visa application, the applicant has the burden of proof to • whether it comes from an expert; show that they meet program criteria. What this means is that the • whether the person is speculating; and applicant is responsible for providing sufficient evidence to satisfy the • whether better evidence could have been provided and whether there is decision-maker that they will leave by the end of their authorized stay, a reason why it was not provided. are eligible for a work permit, are in a genuine relationship with a A frequent mistake that immigration lawyers and consultants make is Canadian, etc. Immigration law provides that visa officers should be able to make a decision based on the information available on the file. including subjective statements about their clients in their cover letters. In They should not have to “fill in the blanks” or “make the case” for the one Federal Court case, a lawyer who was asked to demonstrate that their client spoke English included a letter which stated that the lawyer could applicant. Because of COVID-19, there is currently a public policy to not return incomplete applications; however, applicants must specify which documents they were unable to provide because of COVID-19. The public policy does not appear to extend to inadvertent mistakes, and applicants must continue to carefully review their applications.
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CANADIAN IMMIGRANT Volume 17 Issue 4 | 2020
