Removal Order: This refers to the situation when an immigration official orders a person to leave Canada. There are three kinds of removal orders such as departure, exclusion and deportation. Each one of these orders has different repercussions.
Renunciation of Citizenship (or Renunciation Document): This refers to the process by which a citizen willingly gives up Canadian citizenship willingly. Once a citizenship judge approves the application for renunciation, the authorities issue a renunciation certificate. For more details, refer to the definition of the term ‘Resumption of Citizenship’.
Representative: This refers to a person who has the permission of another person wanting to immigrate to Canada or to obtain Canadian citizenship for conducting business with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on their behalf. This representative could be paid or unpaid. When a person appoints a representative, they could also authorise Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) to share information from their case file with this person. It is worth mentioning that Canada’s citizenship and immigration laws cover representatives. They define the terms of the services offered by these representatives as well. For more details, refer to the definitions of the terms ‘Authorised Representative’ and ‘Citizenship and Immigration Consultant’.
Residence Requirement (Citizenship): This refers to the amount of time a permanent resident would need to live in Canada for being eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship. This applies to applicants who have applied prior to June 11, 2015. The authorities require adults to have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the four years immediately prior to the date of the application. However, this requirement does not apply to children below the age of 18 years.
Resident Requirement (Permanent Resident): This denotes the amount of time that a permanent resident would need to live in Canada for keeping their status as a permanent resident. In most circumstances, the authorities require permanent residents to live in Canada for at least two years (730 days) out of give. There could be occasions when these individuals could count time outside of Canada for meeting this requirement.
Resumption of Citizenship: This refers to the process by which a former citizen can resume Canadian citizenship back after one year of residence in Canada as a permanent resident preceding immediately the date of the application. However, these individuals would need to become permanent residents first. For more details, refer to the definition of the term ‘Renunciation of Citizenship’.
Retired: This denotes that the person has willingly stopped working. In most cases, this would be because of the age of the individual.
Revocation of Citizenship (or Loss of Citizenship or Cease to be a Citizen): A decision from the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or a declaration from the Federal Court could lead the revocation of a person’s citizenship. The reasons for such a revocation could typically include:
- False representation
- Fraud
- Knowingly concealing any material circumstances or,
- Committing an offence against Canada’s national interests
The authorities could also revoke the citizenship of a person if the person, who is a dual citizen, before or after the coming into force of subsections 10 (2) and 10.1 (2) and while also being a Canadian citizen was:
- Convicted of terrorism, high treason, treason or spying offences depending on the sentence received or,
- Served as a member of an armed force of a country or an organised armed group that engaged in armed conflict with Canada
Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF): This refers to a charge paid by the principal applicant (barring some exceptions) and a spouse or common-law partner travelling with the principal applicant, before the applicant can become a permanent resident of Canada.
Safe Third Country: This denotes a country other than Canada and the country of alleged persecution, where an individual could make a claim for refugee protection. In Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) outline the criteria for designating a country as a safe third country.
Satisfactory Academic Standing: This denotes the applicant getting a certain mark or grade point average (GPA) in a program of study or completing certain program requirements. It is worth mentioning that different programs of study will typically have different standards of what the authorities deem as being satisfactory. Therefore, the students would need to ascertain what counts as satisfactory with their educational institutions.
Secondary School (or High School or Middle School): This refers to an institution that provides an education to students who have completed elementary school. These schools will usually include grades nine through 12. In some areas, these schools might even start with grade seven. In the province of Quebec, people refer to secondary grades as grades one through five. It is worth mentioning that applicants for primary and secondary schools do not need to specify a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) number on their application forms.
Sector Council: This refers to an organisation that brings together various representatives from business, labour, education and several professional groups within an industry or a profession.
Self-Employed Person: This denotes an immigrant admitted to Canada for their relevant experience in working for themselves. It is worth mentioning that the person must intend and be able to become self-employed in Canada in the arts, athletics or farm management.
Self-Supporting Refugee: This denotes an applicant accepted as a Convention refugee abroad or as a member of the Country of Asylum Class, who has sufficient financial resources for supporting themselves in Canada.
Separated: This condition denotes that two people are married but are no longer living together. More importantly, these two individuals also do not wish to live together again. As such, they might well be waiting for a divorce. Alternatively, they might have not yet decided to proceed with a divorce either.
Serious Criminality: This refers to a category of criminal inadmissibility that applies to people who have committed or been convicted of offences, inside or outside Canada, which is punishable by a sentence of at least 10 years in Canada. It also refers to people who have been convicted of offences in Canada for which the person has received a sentence of more than six months. People also refer to this as indictable offences in Canada.