Last Updated on November 18, 2016

Qualifying Business: The authorities consider a qualifying business as one in which the percentage of the business controlled by the applicant meets at least two of the following thresholds in one year:

• The full-time job equivalents are equal to or greater than two

• The total annual sales are equal to or greater than $500,000 Canadian dollars

• The net income in the year is equal to or greater than $50,000 Canadian dollars and,

• The net assets at the end of the year is equal to or greater than $125,000 Canadian dollars

This definition enables officers to determine whether an entrepreneur or investor applicant has managed to meet the prescribed business experience requirements.

Reaffirmation Ceremony: This refers to a formal event where Canadian citizens express their commitment to Canada by repeating the oath of citizenship.

Recall of Citizenship Certificate: This refers to the process by which the authorities might require a person to surrender the Citizenship Certificate. The surrender of the certificate would be required in case the authorities find that they have reason to believe that the person might not be entitled to the certificate. Alternatively, the authorities might require the person to surrender the certificate if they find that the person has violated any of the provisions of the Act.

Record of Landing (IMM 1000): This denotes an official document once the authorities issue it to a person on arrival in Canada as a permanent resident. It is worth mentioning that Canada has stopped issuing records of landing on June 28, 2002. For more details, refer to the definitions of the terms ‘Confirmation of Permanent Residence (CoPR)’ and ‘Permanent Resident Card (PRC)’.

Record Suspension: A record suspension (formerly referred to as a pardon) enables people who were convicted of criminal offences to have their criminal records kept separate and apart from other criminal records. This usually takes place in the case the individuals have completed their sentences and demonstrated that they are law-abiding citizens for a prescribed number of years. For more details, refer to the definitions of the terms ‘Criminal Inadmissibility’, ‘Criminal Rehabilitation’ and ‘Deemed Rehabilitation’.

Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program: This refers to the Government of Canada’s program under which the authorities select refugees from abroad and admit them into Canada. This applies only to those refugees who meet Canada’s refugee resettlement criteria.

Refugee Claimant: This denotes a person who has applied for refugee protection status while in Canada. In addition, this person might be waiting for the authorities from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada to take a decision on the claim. For more details, refer to the definition of the term ‘Protected Person’.

Refugee Dependent: This denotes a family member of a refugee in Canada, whose application for permanent residence is processed by the officers at the same time as that of the principal applicant’s.

Refugee Landed in Canada: This denotes a permanent resident who applied for and received permanent resident status in Canada after the authorities accepted their refugee claim.

Refugee Protection Status: When the authorities determine a person (whether inland or overseas) to be a Convention refugee or a protected person, they confer refugee protection status on that person in Canada. The authorities usually provide refugee protection to a person in accordance with the provisions specified in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Refugee Travel Document: This refers to a document for people in Canada who have a protected person status, which they can use for travelling outside Canada. People having this document could typically include refugees and people who have received a positive Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). These individuals can use this document for travelling anywhere except the country of which the person is a citizen or the country of claimed persecution.

Regulated Occupation: This denotes a profession that typically sets its own standards of practice. People wanting to work in a regulated occupation and to use a regulated title, would need to have a licence or a certificate. Alternatively, they would need to be registered with the regulatory body associated with their occupation. On occasions, some occupations might be regulated in some provinces or territories but not in others. Estimates suggest that approximately 20 percent of jobs in Canada are regulated.

Regulatory Body: This refers to an organisation that sets the standards and practices of a regulated occupation. It is worth mentioning that a regulatory body exists for each regulated occupation within each province or territory.

Rehabilitation: This denotes a process by which a person could overcome criminal inadmissibility. For more details, refer to the definitions of the terms ‘Criminal Rehabilitation’ and ‘Deemed Rehabilitation’.

Relationship of Convenience (or Marriages of Convenience): This refers to a marriage, common-law relationship, conjugal partnership or adoption that is not genuine. It could also refer to a marriage, common-law relationship, conjugal partnership or adoption that the concerned parties entered into for status or privilege in Canada. It is worth mentioning that people in these relationships are usually not members of the family class.

Relative: This denotes a person who is related to another person by blood or adoption.

Relevant Experience: In the context of a person applying to immigrate as a self-employed individual, the term relevant experience refers to at least two one-year periods of experience in the period from five years prior to the application date to the day the authorities make a decision on the application. In many cases, experience would usually be in one of the following areas:

• Self-employment in cultural activities or athletics

• Participating in cultural activities or athletics at the world-class level or,

• Farm management