Canadian Immigration Questions & Answers with Attorney David Cohen

Every month, Attorney David Cohen will answer a few general Canadian immigration questions submitted by our readers. Here are this month’s questions and answers:

Can I apply to two different permanent residence programs at the same time (like the Federal Skilled Worker and Spousal Sponsorship)?

The current regulations do not prohibit the submission of applications under different categories.

Has CIC announced if any of the 24 eligible occupations for the Federal Skilled Worker have been filled?

There have been no announcements or updates about the number of applications that have been received by CIC since the Federal Skilled Worker program reopened on May 4th, 2013.

My child is over 18 but is a full-time student and relies on me for all financial support. Can I consider them my 'dependent child' for an immigration application?

At the present time, unmarried children who are less than 22 years old on the date of application can be included in immigration applications as dependent children. However, CIC recently announced that it intends to revise the rules relating to dependent children with effect from January 1st, 2014. This recent announcement indicated that the new revised rules will allow children who are less than 19 years old on the date of application to be included as dependents in an immigrant application. In addition, children who are over the age of 19 years but are financially dependent on their parents due to a mental health or physical disability will continue to be considered as dependent children for immigration purposes.

Is it possible to request expedited processing for a Temporary Work Permit application?

Yes, it is possible to request expedited processing of temporary work permit applications at Visa Offices. however, it is at the discretion of the Visa Office whether or not to accept the request for priority processing. Usually such requests are not entertained positively unless the applicant can demonstrate compelling reasons for expedited processing.

In extraordinary circumstances, is it possible to push back the date by which I must land in Canada as a Permanent Resident?

Generally, the expiration date of a permanent resident visa is determined by the date on which the medical exams were performed. Medical exams are only vaild fora  period of one year. As such, a Visa Office would only be able to grant extensions after reopening the applicant's file and undertaking new medical exams. This would be a very difficult process for a Visa Office, and the likelihood of obtaining extensions is quite low. Applicants would need to demonstrate a very compelling reason to the Visa Office for them to agree to accept an extension request.

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