Canadian Immigration Questions and Answers with Attorney David Cohen

Every month, Attorney David Cohen answers a few general Canadian immigration questions submitted by our readers. These questions cover immigration programs, eligibility, processing, language requirements, investing in Canada, landing, admissibility, studying in Canada, working in Canada, and much more.

1. My husband had a child with his ex and we declared his daughter in our application. All efforts to get her to do a medical exam were not successful, so we provided an affidavit explaining that and submitted our application. We still received a request from IRCC requesting for her medicals. Why?

All accompanying and non-accompanying dependents must have a medical exam performed by a Panel Physician approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Non-accompanying dependents must undergo a medical exam to make sure they are admissible to Canada. Having inadmissible dependents might make you inadmissible as an applicant for permanent residence. An applicant may lose the right to sponsor a non-accompanying dependent at a later time if the required procedures are not observed. It is important to provide IRCC with all relevant documents and an explanation why it is not possible to comply with the request to undergo a medical examination in cases when all efforts to do so have been exhausted. Custody documents should be submitted as well. It will be at the full discretion of IRCC to review the submitted documents and declaration in order to decide on the next steps.

2. My job code is not on the in-demand occupation list for Saskatchewan. However, my skills and jobs description can also fit with an occupation that is on the list. Can I apply with my current situation?

If a candidate's skills and duties are a match for an occupation in Saskatchewan's in-demand occupations list and they have the required reference letter to support their work experience, they should be able to apply. In order to qualify for the program, an applicant must have accumulated at least one year, within the last ten years, of continuous full-time (or the equivalent in part-time) paid work experience in the occupation identified in their application. To support work experience, certain documents from your current and past employers must be provided. Such documents must include letters of reference from the supervisor or human resources officer printed on company letterhead or the applicant’s official work book or other official documents.

Each letter should indicate the following:

The applicant’s job position and dates of employment;
Main duties/responsibilities;
The number of hours worked each week if the position was not full-time; and,
The contact information of the supervisor or manager.

Only accurate and truthful information must be provided. The Saskatchewan immigration authorities state that when misrepresentation is found to have taken place, an applicant may be banned from using the program for up to two years.

3. I am currently working for a company in the United States and they want to transfer me to their other company in Canada. Do I need a LMIA before getting my work permit?

In general, if an applicant has been working for a multi-national company outside of Canada for at least one year in the past three years and is being transferred to the company’s parent, subsidiary, affiliate, or branch in Canada, they may qualify for an Intra-Company Transfer work permit. Applicants who qualify for this work permit are exempt from requiring a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Applicants are required to demonstrate they meet certain requirements including evidence that they work in an Executive, Senior Managerial or Specialized Knowledge capacity and evidence that the two companies have a qualifying relationship.

To find out if you are eligible for Canadian immigration, fill out a FREE assessment form today.