Canadian Immigration Questions and 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:

I believe my Federal Skilled Worker application, which I submitted in 2006, is among those that will be returned. I still want to immigrate to Canada. Am I eligible to reapply?

There is no rule in place barring applicants whose files are returned from preparing and submitting a new application to the Federal Skilled Worker program or other programs to which they are eligible. However, it is important to note that eligibility requirements change regularly. If a person wishes to prepare a new application, they should first fill out a free assessment form to see what programs are available to them.

My husband and I are thinking about immigrating to Canada. We recently learned that we are expecting our first child. How will this affect an application to Canada?

Assuming a child is healthy, an application will not be negatively affected by their inclusion. In fact, for the Quebec Skilled Worker program, having children will allow applicants to receive a maximum of 8 points on the Quebec Selection Grid, thus strengthening an application.

My family applied to the Federal Skilled Worker program. However, we just went through a divorce. How does this affect my application? Will I be able to bring my children to Canada?

How a divorce affects an application depends on a few different factors. Firstly, it depends on who was the principal applicant in the Federal Skilled Worker application.

The principal applicant must see if they claimed points for their spouse’s education or adaptability. If they are still eligible to apply, they may proceed with the application. However, if they no longer meet points requirements, their application will be refused.

The person who is not the principal applicant will not be able to continue applying with their former spouse. They can, of course, prepare and submit their own application.

As for the children, they may still accompany one parent to Canada provided that the custody agreement allows for this. The parent moving to Canada will also have to present an official letter of no objection from their former spouse, stating that the children may accompany the parent to Canada.

I currently live in the United States, but I am out of status. I have paid taxes and have never been arrested or deported. Can I apply for Canadian immigration?

Individuals living in a country out of status may still apply for Canadian Permanent Residency. The fact that they are out of status will have no bearing on the overall application.

I currently live in the United States, but I am out of status. I have paid taxes and have never been arrested or deported. Can I apply for Canadian immigration?

Individuals living in a country out of status may still apply for Canadian Permanent Residency. The fact that they are out of status should in most cases have no bearing on the overall application.

Applicants to Quebec immigration programs should be aware that years of work experience, which must be calculated for some applications, will only count if the work was accrued while the person was in status.

Applications for temporary residence made by an out of status individual will often be refused. Canadian authorities are in general not willing to issue a temporary visa to an individual who has already overstayed their temporary status in another country.

If you would like your general immigration question to be featured in our newsletter, please email your question to QNA@CICNEWS.COM

If you would like to be assessed for Canadian immigration, please complete CanadaVisa’s free Canadian immigration assessment form.