Gregory James
Immigration Law Firm
Your Future ≈ Your Children's Future
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Notes and Definitions
Here are some definitions to help understand the immigration requirements. Usually this will appear in a popup window.
Authorized Representative
In order to reduce the abuse of applicants and Canada’s immigration process, the immigration authorities will now only acknowledge representatives who are “authorized”. The immigration authorities will refuse to work with any agent who is not an “authorized representative”.
Gregory James is a Canadian lawyer and a Canadian citizen. He is recognized as an “authorized representative” by Canada’s immigration authorities.
All Canadian lawyers are recognized as ‘authorized representatives’. Only Canadian citizens or Canadian permanent residents can qualify as “authorized representatives”.
Although many agents are honest and hard working, some agents are unregulated, unethical and/or incompetent. Many applicants have paid large amounts of money to agents who did not do the necessary work, or who in some instances did no work at all. Some agents have encouraged migrants to file the wrong kind of applications, or have done incompetent work that has ruined good applications.
By refusing to work with agents who are not “authorized representatives” the immigration authorities hope to reduce abuse of applicants and of Canada’s immigration process.
Common-Law
A “common-law” relationship is one where the two partners have been living together for at least one year, and have combined or intertwined their affairs in the same way as a married couple, but without being formally married.
Conjugal
A “conjugal” partnership is a relationship with the attributes of a marriage or a common law relationship, with two exceptions: First, there is no formal marriage. Second, the couple are not able to live together, presumably because they have to reside in separate countries due to immigration laws. Like a marriage or common law partnership, the relationship must be to the exclusion of all others. It must be a relationship in which both partners have made long term commitment to each other. There must be dependency between the two partners, in that they have combined their economic and social affairs. The conjugal relationship must be at least 12 months old before the partner can be sponsored.
Dependant Child
There are a number of different ways for a person to qualify as a “dependant child”.
Where the child is a biological or adopted child of the sponsor the following situations normally qualify the child as a dependant:
· The child has not yet had his or her 22nd birthday, and is not married nor living in a common law relationship.
· Where a child is otherwise disqualified because he or she has had his or her 22nd birthday, or is married or living in a common law relationship, the child may still qualify if:
o The child has been continuously enrolled as a full time post secondary student and is financially dependant upon a parent.
o And, if the child is married or living in a common law relationship, the child entered into that relationship before his or her 22nd birthday.
· A child who has had his or her 22nd birthday may also qualify if the child is unable to support him or herself due to a medical condition, and has been continuously financially dependant upon a parent.
Adopted Children
Once a child has been adopted the only parents recognized as parents in Canadian law are the adopted parents. Therefore, it is very unlikely that an adopted child will be able to sponsor her or her birth parents after the child becomes a permanent resident of Canada.
An adopted child will normally qualify for sponsorship if:
- the child was under the age of 18 when the adoption took place;
- the adoption was supervised and approved by a competent authority in the country where it took place;
- the child's parents gave their free and informed consent to the child's adoption;
- the adoption created a genuine parent-child relationship;
- the adoption was in accordance with the laws of the place where the adoption took place;
- the adoption was in accordance with the laws of the sponsor's country of residence;
- If the sponsor resided in Canada at the time the adoption took place, the competent authority of the child's province of intended destination must have stated in writing that it does not object to the adoption.
- if the adoption was subject to the Hague Convention on Adoption, the competent authority of the country where the adoption took place and the province of destination have stated in writing that they approve the adoption as conforming to the Convention;
- if the adoption was not subject to the Hague Convention on Adoption, there is no evidence that the adoption is for the purpose of child trafficking or undue gain within the meaning of the Convention.
Indian
In this context, “Indian” is a reference to North American aboriginals who are called “Indians” under Canada’s Indian Act, and does not refer to nationals of India.
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