Amidst the Canadian law firms and regulated Canadian immigration consultants who understand and can advise you on Canadian immigration matters, there are also endless travel agencies and foreign companies offering immigration services, including faceless, nameless websites offering their services in Canadian immigration without revealing who is going to prepare the application.

Foreign lawyers can be legitimately practicing law in their native country, but they are not permitted to practice Canadian immigration law as per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA); the same applies to travel agencies or any other entity or individual who has no official authorization to represent you regarding Canadian immigration law.

Risks of being represented by unlicensed professionals

Being represented by unlicensed professionals comes with many risks.  One of the most problematic is misrepresentation; these unprofessional companies like to take shortcuts and distort or conceal the facts, which may lead to misrepresentation, and thus a 5-year bar for you, the applicant, as the applicant is the one responsible for mistakes on his or her application.

Rules aren’t the only thing they have limited regard for, either. They just fill out the forms, but they do not advocate for your benefit; they submit your application on your behalf as if it is you who is submitting. Their lack of a proper understanding of Canadian immigration laws and guidelines also means that any advice or assistance they do give you may not be trustworthy. They don’t know enough to tell you what you should do. Do these travel agencies and nameless companies really advocate on your behalf?

Who makes the misrepresentation and when?

The applicant is, of course, ultimately responsible for his or her own misrepresentations.   If a procedural fairness letter was sent to what is allegedly your email address (but is actually an email created by your unlicensed representative — let’s say your travel agency), and that letter never reaches you, thereby making you unable to rebut the concerns that an immigration officer may have, it would not be legally defensible that you didn’t know that a travel agency is not permitted to represent you.  As a result, you would be barred for 5 years.

Also, you must disclose if you have received assistance in preparing your application from a person who is compensated or receives a benefit as a result of such assistance. Failure to declare such assistance may result in the refusal of the application or you may be found inadmissible to Canada, as you have not disclosed this fact. If you pay someone to act as your representative, they must meet the requirements for authorized representatives, as listed below.  “Ghost consultants” have no knowledge on how to address the issues that immigration officers might have raised.  The result? Refusal of your application, or worse — a 5-year bar.  Is it worth risking your future?

So who can represent you?

Only Canadian lawyers in good standing with their respectful law society, regulated Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs), and Quebec notaries are eligible to assist in immigrating to Canada for payment (direct or indirect).

Because of the issues with unauthorized representatives, Bill C-35, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), came into force on June 30, 2011. The bill created a new offence by extending the prohibition against representing or advising (or offering to represent or advise) immigration applicants or potential applicants to include all stages connected to an application or proceeding, including those prior to the official application being made, and puts penalties in place for those who violate this ruling.  And by using the services of someone who isn’t authorized, you, the applicant, might be found to have misrepresented yourself on your application, as you did not disclose that you retained and paid for the services of an organization or an individual that does not fall under one of the three categories permitted to represent for a fee.

The Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (“ICCRC”) is responsible for regulating the activities of the immigration consultants who are its members and who provide immigration advice and representation. ICCRC operates at arm’s length from the Government of Canada. Membership is granted only to those individuals who have demonstrated their knowledge and ability to advise and represent people who seek to immigrate to Canada.

Always check if your representative is a licenced Canadian immigration consultant. The risks to your future are too great otherwise. The representatives at Milmantas Immigration are all members of ICCRC, and we are here to help if you need assistance with a Canadian immigration matter.  If you need help handling an immigration application, contact us

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FINDING A REAL, REGULATED IMMIGRATION PROFESSIONAL — AND PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM FRAUD IN THE PROCESS

So, after a lot of thought and research, including talking to friends and relatives and those who have already made the transition, you’ve decided to immigrate to Canada. You already know that going through the process of obtaining a permanent resident visa (or even a temporary visa) can be demanding, slow and convoluted, fraught with ambiguous questions and irreversible mistakes, and you want to make it as smooth as possible. The assistance of a licensed immigration professional could be the answer.

The question now is how to find the real deal instead of one of the scam artists who prey on wannabe Canadians.

You go online and Google “immigration to Canada” or something similar, in English or in your native language. The first warning sign should be if the website lacks an English version or does not link to one: it is very easy for someone to put up a “consultant” sign and call themselves an immigration consultant, but a person providing immigration advice legally must be a regulated Canadian immigration consultant (RCIC) — a member in good standing of a Canadian regulating organization, the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC) — a lawyer, a member in good standing of a Canadian provincial or territorial law society, or a Chambre des notaires du Québec.  You can check if the consultant you plan to deal with is actually licensed on ICCRC’s official website: http://iccrc-crcic.info/find-a-professional/.

More things to watch out for:

  • The site displays multiple logos — even those of the local business registry and Canadian Better Business Bureau — and may include a picture of a bunch of smiling people around a table, but no consultant name(s). Apart from a violation of the ICCRC advertisement rules, mandating that the names of the consultants must be clearly posted on the website, this may be a sign that the company is an immigration mill doing extensive marketing and subcontracting legitimate consultants to process applications, exerting considerable sales pressure both on them and on you. To earn a living wage at the rates these mills pay, a consultant would not be able to spend sufficient time to thoroughly prepare your application; is that really what you want?
  • The company is based outside Canada. There are myriad companies registered in various countries, allowing them to carry out legitimate business in that specific country, but these companies most likely do not employ professionals in Canadian immigration. Basically, these companies are sales people, not the people who can actually help with your application.  However, some applicants get stuck on the comforting idea that they would be able to physically go into the office and meet a human being there, despite the fact that the person has no education or licence in Canadian immigration.  Please keep in mind that the majority of Canadian immigration consultants practice from Canada; some consultants have offices in the UEA, India, China, the Philippines, or other countries, but only a fraction of consultants have offices outside Canada.  So, why not to do your due diligence and contact a legitimate consultant directly, avoiding this middle man?
  • Incorrect information (such as immigration programs and streams that were discontinued more than a year ago) is displayed on the site. Immigration is an ever-changing field, so if their website is not up to date, how can you be sure they keep abreast of all the changes with respect to their clients’ applications?
  • They promise to assist you with finding jobs with no recruitment license or list of licensed recruiters posted on the website. Remember: most provinces in Canada require a recruiter to be licensed. Also, it is illegal to charge a foreign worker a fee to find a job — the recruitment fee is always paid by the employer.
  • Posted professional fees seem too good to be true. They most likely are: see above about the immigration mills; sometimes all the work is outsourced to outside Canada, and the principals only sign off on the paperwork. Now, do you really want to maximize some company’s profit at the expense of quality and allow unlicensed, non-Canadian personnel to work on your application? And even have access to your personal and private information in a non-Canadian jurisdiction? If you remember a huge joint operation FBI anti-fraud taskforce formed recently in India against illegal call-centres targeting Americans with wide-spread scams, you know the answer already. Similarly, if someone charges $10,000 for an Express Entry application when the average runs between $3,500 and $5,000, you should also think twice about their business model.
  • Poor spelling and vocabulary: if the website has errors, what type of submission will be prepared, and what kinds of issues will there be with a submission written by a so-called specialist who doesn’t even use spell check?

Canada has a provision governed by Bill C-35 that makes it illegal for a person who is not licensed to do so to represent future immigrants and/or give immigration advice for a fee – it applies both in Canada and outside the country. Penalties for convictions under the act include fines of up to CDN$100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to two years.

As in any other area, be it finding a doctor, mechanic, plumber or hairstylist, the safest bet would be to ask those you know, or those your friends and family know in person, who have already had a successful outcome, for a recommendation. Are they happy with the result, the process, how much they paid?

After you get the names, search out these professionals online. Once you have established that they have an online history (remember — Google is your friendJ — nothing ever written online truly disappears), check their website (Most of them will have one — either their own or in association, even for the purpose of just being searchable online; some, mostly senior ones, work by referrals only, having accumulated enough business during their years in practice.).

Once you’ve read the advertisement or browsed a consultant’s website, you have to ask yourself three important questions:

  1. Is this person really who s/he claims to be?
  2. Does s/he have enough knowledge/experience to represent me (read: experience with cases similar to mine, be it economic/skilled migration, dealing with entrepreneurs, or representing for an appeal, detention review or hearing in Canada)?
  3. Will I have a clear understanding of my process?

The first question could be answered by comparing different online searches: there have been instances when scammers have spoofed reputable companies, putting entire fake versions of these websites online. In this case, a legitimate business website for the consultant might have a “beware of fraud” warning – this is a clear sign that you are in the right digital space. Sometimes consultants have their business address and e-mail posted online in other databases; do your due diligence and write to these e-mail addresses asking about a website bearing their name – whether it is legit or not. If there is no answer and you feel that you would like to deal with this person in particular because of a referral, there is a “contact” feature on the ICCRC website showing each consultant’s name that allows a prospective client to write a brief message to the consultant that will be then passed on through the ICCRC server directly to the e-mail address associated officially with that consultant’s ICCRC registration.

To have an answer to the second and third questions, if you still aren’t sure after browsing the site, you will have to get in touch with them in person – whether by e-mail or by phone. Most consultants will have a brief (up to 15-minute) chat with you or even do an initial assessment for free. Do not count on getting something for nothing, though: the goal of this communication is to obtain some initial information of your case but not to consult with you about your particular case.

Of course this all takes time, but wouldn’t you rather be safe than sorry?

This is not an exhaustive list of recommendations, but it is a starting point in your quest for a powerful and reliable engine that will move your train to this station called Canada without crashing and stopping and losing passengers.

Julia Brodyansky, RCIC

Sponsoring Parents and Grandparents – Another Draw May be Conducted in August or September

At the latest Canadian Bar Association conference, a representative of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) advised that another draw may be conducted to invite more individuals to apply to sponsor parents or grandparents to immigrate to Canada through the Parent and Grandparent Program. The second draw may be conducted in the coming months. “Probably in August or September we’ll take a tally and see how many more spaces are left in the 10,000 cap, and there’ll be another round of people invited to apply,” the IRCC representative said.

In January 2017, IRCC started a newapproach to sponsor parents or grandparents. A two-step process was introduced, which required individuals to indicate their interest to sponsor by submitting an interest to submitting completing an interest to sponsor form online between January 3 and February 2. Then on April 25, 10,000 potential sponsors from the pool of 95,000 were randomly invited to submit a sponsorship application within 90 days.

The immigration department confirmed that as of June 8, only 700 applications had been received from invited sponsors. Moreover, 15 PERCENT WERE INCOMPLETE.

“If the department does not receive the 10,000 new applications within the stipulated timeframe, additional persons will be invited to apply [from] a randomized list,” a spokesperson from IRCC said. “If we don’t receive COMPLETE APPLICATIONS we will go back and draw from that existing list.”

Please contact us for assistance to have an impeccable application prepared!

Expansion of “Five Eyes”

Recent changes to Canada’s information exchange with other countries are meant to speed up processing time and increase security, but with increased access come questions about privacy and misuses of information.

Canada has amended the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) to include new automated immigration information sharing allowances with its FCC partners. This means that Canada will be automatically providing certain information about third-country nationals and permanent residents, if that information is requested by Australia, New Zealand, or the United Kingdom, and Canada can retrieve this same information automatically from these same countries (a similar pilot program exists with the United States). These changes are intended to eliminate excessive effort and delays in exchanging this information and to reduce fraud and security risks from “higher-risk” applicants such as asylum seekers and refugee claimants.

So what information will the governments of these countries be able to share? There will be limitations on what information can be disclosed and why/when, in order to allow those affected to maintain rights to privacy as much as possible. The IRPR limits the shareable information to biographic identity information, fingerprints, a digital photograph, and immigration-related information held by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The information has to be “necessary, relevant and proportionate” (IRPR, Division 3, 315.39) to the application of immigration, refugee, and citizenship law in the respective countries, and the information exchange is “query-based,” meaning that it will only be supplied when asked for. A query can only be made “to support an examination or determination following an [immigration] application or claim made by a national of a third country” or to determine if “a national of a third country is authorized to travel to, enter or remain in Canada.” (IRPR, Division 3, 315.4 (1)) The governments involved are also required to ensure as best they can that the information exchanged is accurate, and the information sent will not allow access to databases or complete records, and once utilised to attempt to determine identity, fingerprints submitted as part of the query are to be automatically disposed of rather than kept on file.

While these limitations on access to and use of this automated information are significant, so are the privacy concerns. Immigration files can include very personal information, from family photos to medical records. And data compiled by immigration officers or otherwise sourced from someone other than the applicant that differs from the information supplied by an applicant could also cause problems for those hoping to immigrate.

While Canadian citizens are exempt from the information sharing, those who are here temporarily and others in potentially precarious living situations (including refugee claimants) are not. Many people come to Canada to experience the rights and freedoms granted to Canadians, but these changes to the Regulations show that not everyone present in Canada gets to enjoy those rights and freedoms the same way.

Source: http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2017/2017-05-17/html/sor-dors79-eng.php

Immigration Canada

“Best foot forward” – temporary resident applications

Temporary Resident Applicants – Make Sure You Put Your Best Foot Forward

You’ve answered all the questions, and your temporary resident application includes all the required documents. You’ve done everything you need to before applying, right? Not always.

Although the application package for a visa includes a list of documents, this list only includes the minimum required documents, not all of those which may be invaluable to support a particular case. And if there’s a document that a visa officer would need to be convinced to accept a case, they aren’t under any obligation to point this out to the applicant.

Rather, as the Federal Court has explained, “In general, the onus is on a visa applicant to put his best foot forward by providing all relevant supporting documentation and sufficient credible evidence in support of his application. The onus does not shift to the visa officer and there is no entitlement to a personal interview if the application is ambiguous or supporting material is not included [citations omitted].”

There are only a few cases in which duty of fairness requires an officer to let an applicant know about their concerns prior to a decision, one of them is when the officer is basing a decision on regional stereotypes.

Sometimes, despite a refusal, applicants will continue submitting applications, unaware of what they may be omitting that is causing their problems. But a little help can go a long way. We know the challenges of putting together a truly complete application and the problems that applicants may run into given their unfamiliarity with the immigration system. We build our cases based on merit and can help you put your best foot forward to maximize your cases of success.

*See e.g. Dhillon v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2009 FC 614 (CanLII) at para 30.

“[29] Mr. Dhillon claims that the Visa Officer should have conducted an interview in order to confront him with his concerns and give him a chance to provide explanations.

[30] It is trite law that a Visa Officer has no obligation to interview an applicant and that said applicant has no legitimate expectation of having an interview:

[16] It seems to me the visa officer went beyond what was expected. The officer was under no obligation to alert Mr. Liu of these concerns since they were about matters that arose directly from Mr. Liu’s own evidence and from the requirements of the Act and of the Regulations. An applicant’s failure to provide adequate, sufficient or credible proof with respect to his visa application does not trigger a duty to inform the applicant in order for him to submit further proof to address the finding of the officer with respect to the inadequacy, deficiency or lack of credibility…”

It is not worth the risk, please call us for assistance, we are here to help you!

For Citizens of Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania

For Citizens of Brazil, Bulgaria and Romania

From May 1, 2017, citizens of BRAZIL, BULGARIA AND ROMANIA are no longer required to apply for a visitor visa, instead needing only an Electronic Travel Authorization for travel to Canada by air if they meet any of the following conditions: they have held a Canadian temporary resident visa at any time during the last 10 years or, at the time of application, hold a valid U.S. nonimmigrant visa.

Two-Year Residency Rule Has Been Eliminated

On April 28, 2017, conditional permanent residence requirements for spouses and partners were eliminated.  Sponsored spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents are no longer required to live with their sponsor for two years in order to keep their permanent resident status, as the government does not wish a sponsored spouse or partner who is in an abusive situation to remain in it for fear of losing their status in Canada.

This change applies to anyone who was subject to the requirement, as well as to new spouses and partners who are sponsored as permanent residents. By eliminating the conditions, the government demonstrates its commitment to reunification of families and gender equality.  As a result of this regulatory change, defenseless sponsored spouses will no longer need to stay in abusive relationships for fear of losing their permanent resident status.

Effective May 3, 2017, the age of a dependent child, which means the age at which a child will be able to accompany his or her parents to Canada on a permanent resident application, has been raised again, back to under 22.  Under the new regulation, dependent children under 22 years of age can be included in spousal sponsorship applications.

The previous government of Canada had changed the definition, so that dependent children over 19 could no longer be sponsored as part of a spousal sponsorship application. The current government of Canada has reverted to the previous definition of “dependent child” for sponsorship purposes.

Please contact us, should you require any assistance with your immigration needs, we will be delighted to assist you. 

A 3-year Atlantic Pilot Project

What you Need to Know About the Atlantic Immigration Pilot

As announced on July 4, 2016, the Atlantic provinces will start an exciting initiative in March 2017 to attract and retain skilled immigrants in Atlantic Canada: New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. This one pilot project will cover the entire region known as “the Maritimes.”

Beginning in March 2017, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will be accepting permanent resident applications under the pilot program. In 2017, a total of up to 2000 applications, including skilled workers and accompanying family members, will be accepted for these programs.

It is anticipated that this project will help the provinces to increase the shrinking labour force—due to an aging population—and will ensure long-term economic growth for the Atlantic region. It is anticipated that the project will also sustain the population growth, aid in developing a skilled workforce, and, as a result, increase employment rates in the provinces. The program is set to last three years.

The government of Canada and the Atlantic provinces are building a vibrant economic future for Atlantic Canada as they are directing their efforts and resources to stimulate the economy, support the middle class and address longstanding and evolving regional challenges.

This one interprovincial team is focussed on increasing Atlantic growth, as they share a common vision to bring continued and long-term economic prosperity to the four provinces.  The areas involved comprise:

  • skilled workforce/immigration
  • innovation
  • clean growth and climate change
  • trade and investment, and
  • infrastructure.

The difference from other pilot projects is that principal applicants arriving under this program will have a job offer from an employer and a customized settlement plan for assisting the family to integrate and become economically established in the province. Employers will also take part in the long-term integration of the newcomers in order to meet the goals of their settlement plan upon arrival in Canada.

Employers wishing to participate in the program need to meet certain requirements and must be screened by their respective province prior to hiring a foreign worker through this program.

This new Atlantic pilot project consists of three categories (2 employer-based streams and international students). Please contact us for assistance in pursuing your dreams of becoming established in the Maritimes.

 

URGENT: Be the first to know – reopening of OINP

The Province of Ontario announces an increased provincial nominee quota for its 2017 Immigrant Nominee Program for a total of 6,000 applications.

These include skilled workers, foreign students, successful entrepreneurs and key personnel of foreign corporations aiming to expand into the province.

The proprietary online platform developed by the OINP IT department (which we reported about with respect to the OINP French-speaking Stream in January) is ready to open intake for the International Masters/PhD Graduate streams and the Ontario Express Entry Human Capital Priority stream next week. These are the most popular and highest volume streams, which last year were filled by May 9 and have been suspended till now. Attending the “dry run” demonstration of the new online paperless system next week will allow us to better serve our clients willing to settle in Ontario.

The announcement was made jointly by Laura Albanese, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Ontario, and Deb Matthews, Deputy Premier and Minister of Advanced Education and Skills Development, recognizing both the success and importance of OINP for the economy of the province.
https://news.ontario.ca/mci/en/2017/02/ontario-continuing-to-welcome-newcomers-with-expanded-and-modernized-immigration-program.html

Attention — immigration scam! A number of African, Caribbean and South-East Asian countries are targets.

   We have been receiving phone calls and e-mails asking about a so-called “Canadian Visa Lottery” — a fake news story apparently spreading through an online grapevine and gaining momentum on certain social media platforms. It appears that an article has been published online listing a number of countries, citizens of which would be allowed to participate in the new Canadian visa lottery, similar to the U.S. DV lottery. A certain geographical area appears to be being targeted by scammers: the list of “eligible” countries includes the Philippines, Thailand, Fiji, Guyana, Jamaica, Pakistan, Oman, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Gambia, Cameroon, Kenya, Lesotho, Uganda and Zambia.

   Beware: the story is clearly a scam designed to bilk thousands of citizens from poor countries who desperately seek better fortunes elsewhere, trusting that when it seems to be too good to be true, it may still be true. Professionally speaking, the rules of the so-called lottery listed in the article look randomly thrown together and have absolutely no relation to any existing immigration program in Canada. But since not everybody is well-versed in the intricacies of the Canadian immigration system, below are three main points for every Jane and Joe seeking to leave for greener pastures.

   First of all, any record of action taken or sanctioned by the government of Canada should be publicly available. However, no public announcement has been made by IRCC or any other branch of the Canadian government that would indicate that such a lottery could take place. The only lottery that IRCC will be holding — today, as a matter of fact — is the selection of applicants willing to sponsor their parents to Canada, a move announced by IRCC on December 14, 2016. And while one can easily find an announcement about parental sponsorship selection by way of lottery, there is none about any other lottery. No link in the story is provided to the official source for a very apparent reason — it does not exist.

   Secondly, a clear indication of fraud is a very conspicuous error in names: instead of using the correct title, “Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada,” the story quotes “Canadian Immigration and Citizenship” as the name of the Canadian government department in charge of immigration. Our rule is when in doubt, always search the official sources, and we urge everybody to protect themselves from immigration fraud and check the official IRCC publication at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/protection/fraud/index.asp.

   Last but not least, we checked the registration of the website where the article was published; do not be fooled by the name — it has nothing to do with U.S. TV. No surprise here — there is absolutely no clarity regarding who is behind the website, which is filled with online ads and pop-ups. It was registered on October 25, 2016, the names of the owners are hidden and it is a proxy domain — with the true identities of the site owners/domain, etc. disguised behind a string of glossy facades rented by anyone who pays for it. See for yourself:

https://whois.icann.org/en/lookup?name=usanews-tv.com

   It looks like immigration fraud was in the original design of this “masterpiece”; on the verge of the confusion that has erupted about who is being denied entry to the US and the ensuing border frenzy borne by the US President’s executive order signed on January 28, 2017, it has also managed to publish fake U.S. visa news alleging that citizens of African countries now have a 30-day free passage to the U.S., which is not true. We feel truly sorry for gullible folks who read it and may show up at the U.S. border with no visa…

   Our advice: avoid at all costs. Avoid anyone — whether a person or an organization — offering assistance with these two programs; the programs are fake and the only “assistance” you will get is your money being assisted out of your pocket into the pockets of the scammers. Always check the source — with the relevant authorities — Canadian or U.S.

How U.S. Travel Ban to the States Affects Canadians and Permanent Residents

   Despite the fact that the Trudeau government has received assurances that Canadian passport holders will not be caught up in an American travel ban temporarily banning citizens of seven countries from entering the United States, the issues are not quite clear for many Canadians and permanent residents travelling and working in the U.S.

Due to the recent travel legislation changes in the United States, individuals with passports issued by Iran, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia are not permitted to travel to the United States at this time.

Persons with permanent resident status in Canada who have a passport from any of the countries listed above, including individuals with valid U.S. travel visas, cannot travel into the U.S. at present.  Those visas will be cancelled.

Canadian citizens from the listed countries should take caution and limit travel into the U.S. at this time as well as use the means of travel suggested below.

   If a Canadian citizen MUST fly into the U.S., they should travel via airports that have U.S. customs pre-flight inspection and avoid small airports.   The review would occur on Canadian soil, and a person may exit the airport without an issue.

If a Canadian citizen MUST drive to the U.S., via regular border crossing, if the entry is denied, it is expected that the individual  will be allowed to return directly to Canada.

It might be wise for individuals associated with these seven countries to avoid flying directly into the U.S., as doing so would put  an individual at the greatest risk of potential detention in the U.S.,  keeping in mind that  the interpretation of the U.S. executive order is determined by the individual U.S. officer. It is also possible that if entry is denied, the examining officer may have difficulty determining whether the person should be removed back to Canada or the country of birth/dual nationality of the traveller.

The Canadian government has been advised by the U.S. government that Canadians born in and/or with dual citizenship with one of these seven nations will be permitted to enter the U.S.  However, we need to be cautious as the executive order continues to take form.  We trust that these suggested means of travel will minimize your risks.

BREAKING NEWS: OINP goes online — a peek at the new online portal.

Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) Goes Live

The new online portal developed by the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program (OINP) goes live within the next couple of days, and its smooth functionality was demonstrated this past Friday, January 20, 2017, at the OINP headquarters at 400 University Avenue in Toronto. For the time being, only submissions of applications in the French-speaking stream will be allowed online; however, other streams are now in the beta-testing phase and will follow shortly. While there has been no formal date announced, it has been implied that March is the next milestone, when, it is hinted, the program will resume application intake for its 2017-allocated quota; unless, of course, a major development or production issue occurs, something that happens regularly in the IT industry — we all know how frustrating an Error 404 displayed on your monitor can be when you are trying to do something online!

Once re-opened, the program will no longer accept paper applications — everything will be done through the online portal, much like the Federal MyCIC (for the general public) or AR (for authorized representatives) system.

As much as it resembles and serves the same purpose as the MyCIC/AR portal in the IRCC system, it appears the OINP system has better functionality and is more user-friendly.

The main positive feature is that it offers applicants who retain immigration representatives two ways to review their application before it is submitted — by way of additional access with their own PIN and via the “Print” button, which generates all the input information in one form that is easy to print or save in PDF format. It also allows representatives to see a list of all the applicants and the status of each application on the same page. Each page, once completed, saves automatically, with no need to hit a “Save” button — also prominently displayed at the bottom of the page. It functions in real time — Ontario is in the EST time zone. A designated e-mail address will be provided for queries, and a reference base in the FAQ section that will follow shortly will be constantly updated with repeated questions.

The system, at its back end, automates some otherwise manpower-consuming tasks and consequently should significantly decrease overall OINP processing times, which lately have ballooned to ~9 months (EE stream). The servers are located in Ontario, ensuring security and fast access; all development and production is done by in-house IT professionals.

Overall, from what was seen during the demo session, the system has all the necessary features, should work smoothly and should have fewer malfunctions than the EE portals.  The challenge, however, remains in the necessity to manually re-enter most of the information that has already been inputted into the IRCC EE system due to the peculiarities of intergovernmental information-sharing agreements, different system designs and jurisdiction. This means that one has to know what they are doing online, take utmost care and pay greatly increased attention throughout the process, since the slightest discrepancy in the information provided through both systems could potentially lead to a misrepresentation charge that would effectively mean a 5-year bar from Canada. And faster processing in this case provides no consolation.

Please contact us, if you need some assistance.