Canadian Immigration Information Centre

Deportation date set for Jackie Tran

Jackie Tran, also known as Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen, an alleged Calgary gangster, may be deported from Canada to Vietnam within the next few days. He was picked up by Calgary police after failing to appear for a scheduled meeting with the Canada Border Agency. 

In 2002, Tran was convicted of trafficking cocaine and assault with a deadly weapon. He received a conditional sentence for the trafficking offences (served in the community) and a fine for the assault.  He was subsequently deemed to be inadmissible to Canada by a division of the Immigration and Refugee Board and ordered deported from Canada. An appeal confirmed his removal order and he now seeks judicial review of the appeal decision.  

Amnesty International seeks visa removals

According to the Prague Daily Monitor, Amnesty International is calling on Canada to lift its recently-imposed visa requirement for Czech nationals (and Mexican nationals). According to the paper, Amnesty International cites, among other things, the fact that Czech citizens of Roma descent face barriers to education and housing in their own country and the fact that they may be subject to the irritation of non-Roma Czech nationals who may hold a grudge against them as reasons why Canada should reverse its visa requirement.

Refugee law is designed to protect persons who, if deported, face a real danger of torture, risk of death or risk of cruel and unusual treatment/punishment. There may be valid or compelling reasons for Canada to consider reversing its visa policy but barriers to education or housing or protection against possible grudge-bearing are not among them. 

Family of Chinese fugitive return home

China View news is reporting that the former spouse and daughter of China's most-wanted fugitive, Lai Changxing, have returned to China voluntarily after a decade spent in Canada. Lai is accused of having conspired to smuggle $10 billion from The People's Republic of China. He remains in Canada. China's efforts to have him extradited have been denied by Canada because of fears that Lai would be tortured or executed if deported to China. 

Citizens of Mexico & Czech Republic now require visas to enter Canada

Starting today, foreign nationals from the Czech Republic and Mexico now require a temporary resident visa to enter Canada. The change is intended to reduce the burden on the refugee system in Canada from the influx of refugee claims from those two countries. Mexico is the top source country for refugee claims, with over 9,000 claims in 2008 alone. The Czech Republic is the second with 3,000 claims since October 2007. 

Canadian sponsorship rejection statistics

The Toronto Star has an interesting story on the inconsistent rates of rejection among CIC foreign offices for spousal sponsorship. 

CIC removes asylum-related webpage

A Canadian news service reported that a web page documenting the acceptance by Canada of American deserters during the Vietnam war has been removed from the Citizenship & Immigration Canada website. 

The information was removed, some say, because of the government's recent change in policy refusing asylum to American war deserters. 

Since the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003, close to 25,000 Americans have deserted the army. Some entered Canada seeking asylum. 

Canada may reimpose visa control on Czechs

The government of Canada is considering imposing visa restrictions on citizens of the Czech Republic to curb the flow of Roma migrants arriving in Canada by the hundreds each month seeking refugee status. 

Immigration minister Jason Kenney, who was in Prague this week, is quoted as having said that the increase in asylum seekers is a concern for Canada and that the Czech Republic is not an island of persecution in Europe. 

Sex offender from Iran can stay in Canada

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada today decided that Farid Noedost, a convicted drug trafficker, fraudster and sex offender from Iran, could remain in Canada for now because of fears Noedost has that he would be killed if deported to Iran. 

Immigrant claimants challenge application fees

A handful of immigrant claimants in Ontario are challenging the $550 application fee for applying to remain in the country on humanitarian and compassionate grounds according to a report from the Toronto Star. There are approximately 8,000 humanitarian applications in Canada each year. The decision is before the Federal Court and a decision on the matter will be rendered in several months. 

Automatic refugee appeals under consideration

According to a news report in the Toronto Sun, the Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) is pushing for legislation that would guarantee an automatic appeal for failed refugee claimants in Canada. The proposed Bill C-291 is before a Parliament standing committee. If passed, it would guarantee an appeal for unsuccessful refugees before they are deported from the country.

The legislation would cost Canadians a whopping $94 million a year. That's because, according to the news report, there are 20,000 refugees claimants per year who are refused by Canada and each claim cost Canadians $4,700 to process. 

The CCR also wants CIC to forgive the outstanding $37 million in travel and medical loans given to refugees who settled in Canada. 

World refugee day in Canada

Today is World Refugee Day. 

In Canada, World Refugee Day was marked with a news announcement by the federal government that it has paid for the preparation of a video highlighting the experience of one refugee family who spent 16 years at the Mae La Oon refugee camp before settling in Canada. It's an interesting video but it's not very helpful to refugees. I would rather see the government spend money producing a video that gives refugees some useful information on successfully applying for refugee status in this country. Better yet, a video that simply highlights the fact that there is a World Refugee Day would be more helpful to raise awareness in this country, like the one Angelina Jolie produced for UNHCR.

Canada's refugee help, however, should not be minimized. According to the UNHCR, Canada (with the US) accepts the largest number of refugees worldwide. Each year, Canada accepts 30,000 refugees. 

Immigration document processing errors

According to a report today in the Toronto Star, Citizenship & Immigration Canada employees are making an increasing number of mistakes on immigration documents such as incorrect names, gender or employers. Immigration offices in the west, such as Vancouver, appear to make more errors than elsewhere. The type of documents involves tend to be applications for temporary residence such as  work and student visas. You can read the full story here.

Digital fingerprints may be needed to enter Canada

Canada's deputy minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Richard Fadden, indicated that new rules requiring digital fingerprints and face scanning at foreign visa offices may apply to all visitors in the near future, beginning with countries that pose the greatest security risk to Canada. The new policy could start as early as 2011 and would apply to visas for traveling, working or studying in Canada. 

The program has already been tested at Canadian foreign visa offices and was found to be effective in combating immigration fraud. The fingerprinting and face scanning process has helped identify people who were refused a visa to enter Canada who later applied at the Canadian border as refugee claimants without the requisite documentation. 

The plan still has to be vetted by the Canadian federal privacy commissioner.

Canada increases immigration screening for Sri Lanka

According to a report in the Globe & Mail today, Canada is boosting its immigration screening in Sri Lanka to prevent the entry into Canada of Tamil Tiger terrorists. Immigration applicants from Sri Lanka with ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam will trigger an in-depth review by immigration officials. There is already a large back-log of immigration applications there and this will certainly slow down the process more. 

Canada to crack down on bogus consultants

The immigration minister announced today that the Canadian government will crack down on what it calls the widespread and deliberate immigration fraud being committed by bogus immigration consultants operating in foreign countries. 

Vancouver - One of the most livable cities in the world

The Economist has ranked Vancouver as the most livable city in the world. Not surprising! According to the article, Vienna scored second in the report with a close overall score of 97.9 points compared with Vancouver's overall score of 98.0. 

Iranian refugee deported for crimes against humanity

The Canadian Border Agency (CBA) announced that a former member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Seyed Amin Hoseyni Bob Anari, was deported from Canada today because of his role in committing crimes against humanity. 

Mr. Anari arrived in Canada in 2004 and settled in Vancouver. He sought refugee status in Canada. The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his refugee claim in June 2007, finding that, as a member of the Revolutionary Guard, he was complicit in crimes against humanity and therefore ineligible for refugee protection in Canada. At a subsequent hearing to stay his removal from Canada, which was unsuccessful, he argued that he would be tortured and possibly executed if deported to Iran. Mr. Anari had previously unsuccessfully applied for refugee status in Belgium. The Federal Court decision is available here - Download Anari Decision.

In announcing the deportation, the CBA spokesperson said: "Canada is not a safe haven for individuals who are involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide regardless of where or when they were committed."

Ex-KGB officer ordered out of Canada

A former officer with the Soviet KGB intelligence service, Mikhail Lennikov, sought sanctuary at the First Lutheran Church in Vancouver today after being ordered deported from Canada when his appeal was denied. He was found inadmissible to Canada because of his former membership in the KGB

Mr. Lennikov arrived in Canada in 1997 after he quit the KGB. When his family applied for permanent residence, he was deemed to be a security risk and he and his family were ordered deported. His wife and son were subsequently allowed to remain in the country, although their status is as yet undetermined. 

Photo: Vancouver Courier