Operational Bulletin 544 – August 22, 2013

 Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides officers on how to process a Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) application when the applicant is:

• A protected person, who has not applied for a Protected Person Application for Permanent Residence (PPAPR) or,
• A Protected Person  who has applied for a PPAPR or,
• An applicant who has applied in the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada Class (SCLPC)

 Officers expected to follow the functional guidance provided by this OB, include officers from the:

• Backlog Reduction Office (BRO) Network
• Case Processing Centre – Vegreville and,
• Local Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) Offices in Canada

 Guidelines

The possibility exists that the Backlog Reduction Office in Vancouver (BRO-V) could receive H&C applications. Some of these could from protected persons, who have:

• Not submitted a PPAPR yet or,
• Have applied for a PPAPR or,
• Have an outstanding SCLPC application pending at Stage 1 or 2

In these situations, the BRO-V would not examine these applications. Instead, it would return the fee and the application. It would also issue a letter – refer to Template Letter A.

The BRO-V would also take certain measures if the applicant has an outstanding H&C application, which is pending at either Stage 1 or Stage 2. Therefore, if the applicant:

• Is a protected person who has not submitted a PPAPR yet
• The BRO-V would process the application as per standard procedures
• Is a protected person who has submitted a PPAPR or has applied for a PPAPR
• The BRO-V would hold the application in abeyance until the applicant:
• Withdraws the application
• Receives a refusal or,
• Obtains permanent residence status (is landed)
• The BRO-V would also enter the following Non-Computer Based (NCB) entry in the Field Operations Support System (FOSS):
• “H&C held in abeyance while PPAPR in process and BF filed for six months”
• The BRO-V would also assign the following project code to this file in the National Case Management System (NCMS):
• “H&C in abeyance pending PPAPR”
• In case the final decision on the PPAPR is:
• Positive:
• The BRO-V would refuse the application (in accordance with Section 11.3 of IP 5)
• Issue the Template Letter B
• Negative:
• The BRO-V would resume processing the outstanding H&C application according to the standard procedures
• Is an applicant who has an outstanding SCLPC application pending (refer to the notes at the end of this section):
• The BRO-V would hold the application in abeyance until the applicant:
• Withdraws the application
• Receives a refusal or,
• Obtains permanent residence status (is landed)
• The BRO-V would also enter the following Non-Computer Based (NCB) entry in the Field Operations Support System (FOSS):
• “H&C held in abeyance while SCLPC in process and BF filed for six months”
• The BRO-V would also assign the following project code to this file in the National Case Management System (NCMS):
• “H&C in abeyance pending SCLPC”
• In case the final decision on the SCLPC is:
• Positive:
• The BRO-V would refuse the application (in accordance with Section 11.3 of IP 5)
• Issue the Template Letter B
• Negative:
• The BRO-V would resume processing the outstanding H&C application according to the standard procedures

 Note:

• This scenario assumes that:
• There is no H&C requested within the SCLPC (as this would make it concurrent H&C requests)
• This is not permitted in situations where the H&C request is received on or after June 29, 2010 (according to OB 440-B)

Transfer of H&C Stage 2 Results for Positive Stage 1 SCLPC/PPAPR Processes

In certain cases, officers could transfer specific cases and apply to the SCLPC/PPAPR process. This would occur when any Stage 2 requirements are complete because of the H&C process. This also takes into account the completion of Stage 2 requirements for overseas dependents.

 In such situations, the office handling the H&C application would notify the office where the SCLPC/PPAPR is pending by e-mail. The e-mail would state that the officers have held the H&C application in abeyance. It would also mention that local officers could use the Stage 2 requirements to land the applicant under the SCLPC/PPAPR process. If needed, the e-mail could also contain other information containing:

• The Initiation of the Stage 2 landing requirements and,
• Results of any Stage 2 screening

The process for transferring the screening results to another application include the following steps:

• Medical Admissibility: Officers can access most medical results from the Global Case Management System (GCMS). Thus, officers could use the results found in the GCMS for the SCLPC/PPAPR application. They only need to ensure that the results found in the GCMS are still valid. To do this, officers must:
• Set the Medical activity to “Generate” within the GCMS application
• Note the IME# created by the GCMS for that medical activity
• E-mail the following information to the Health Branch:
• Subject: Transfer to GCMS
• Name:
• Date of Birth:
• UCI: (In case the FOSS id differs, mention both the ids) and,
• IME:
• Criminality and Security Admissibility: In this case, officers would enter the results in the VegWeb field of the GCMS. Additionally, they would need to:
• Consult the online help for additional information on how they need to record admissibility decisions
• Add a note in the GCMS to identify any criminality and/or any security requests processed in FOSS
• Example: “Security result initiated in CPC on 2014/01/01 and passed in FOSS on 2014/05/01”

Note:

• For Medical Admissibility, officers grant an Exemption from Excessive Demand (EDE) for SCLPC and PPAPR applicants
• Officers do not grant a similar exemption to H&C applicants
• Officers need to re-submit the results to the Health Branch for a new assessment if the H&C applicant’s medical result is:
• M4
• M5 or,
• M6
• Officers would need to e-mail the Health Branch for requesting the transfer of the medical results to the GCMS if:
• Only the FOSS contains the medical results and,
• Officers require a record in the GCMS to complete the SCLPC processing
• As an exception to the Criminality and Security Admissibility section, officers:
• Cannot close the H&C application if:
• The SCLPC/PPAPR has been approved in principle and,
• Security and criminality requests were already sent via CPC (under the H&C application)
• Cannot close the H&C application as they would need the results prior to:
• Closing the file in FOSS and
• Recording the results in the GCMS
• CIC partners would treat second results sent via GCMS under the SCLPC/PPAPR application, before the first results are received, as duplicates
• These CIC partners would not assess these requests

The Process for Overseas Dependents

The mission would receive information concerning a final positive Stage 2 decision on a SCLPC/PPAPR. In this situation, the mission would need to close any Dependent Person Overseas (DPO) applications in the GCMS related to the H&C application. The BRO or local CIC office, which is handling the H&C application, would need to inform the mission processing the DPO. The mission would then proceed to close the DPO application.

 The mission would need to:

• Delete a DPO application related to the H&C application (which the mission is currently closing) if:
• The H&C application has not been promoted in the GCMS
• Cancel a DPO application if the H&C application has been promoted in the GCMS
• They would cancel the application because the dependents are currently listed on the:
• ‘REF-CDA’ application for PPAPR applicants or,
• Spousal application for SCLPC applicants      

Template Letter A: Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) Application

The text of Template Letter A is as follows:

This refers to your application for permanent residence from within Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Humanitarian and compassionate factors are assessed to determine whether an exemption from certain legislative requirements to allow your application for permanent residence to be processed from within Canada will be granted.

[Include this text if the applicant is a protected person and has not submitted a Protected Person Application for Permanent Residence (PPAPR)]

—————————————————————————————————-

On (insert date), (the Immigration and Refugee Board or Citizenship and Immigration Canada [CIC]) accepted you as a Convention refugee or person in need of protection, therefore you are now a protected person in Canada. This means that you may apply for permanent residence as a protected person. Because of this, an application for an exemption on H&C grounds is no longer required and it is being returned to you. To request a refund of your application fees, you must send a letter to:

HPM Production

JET North

300 Slater St., 5th Floor

Ottawa, ON  K1A 1L1

with the following information:

• your name,
• your Canadian mailing address and telephone number,
• the reason for the refund request and,
• one of the receipts stamped by the bank

Please allow up to eight weeks to receive your refund.

You can submit an application for permanent residence for protected persons.

———————————————————————————————————

[OR Include this text if the applicant is a protected person and has submitted a Protected Person Application for Permanent Residence (PPAPR)]

********************************************************

On (insert date), you submitted a protected person permanent residence application.  Because of this, an application for an exemption on H&C grounds is no longer required and it is being returned to you. To request a refund of your application fees, you must send a letter to:

HPM Production

JET North

300 Slater St., 5th Floor

Ottawa, ON  K1A 1L1

with the following information:

• your name,
• your Canadian mailing address and telephone number
• the reason for the refund request and,
• one of the receipts stamped by the bank

 Please allow up to eight weeks to receive your refund.

***********************************************************

[OR Include this text if the applicant has an outstanding SCLPC application pending]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

On (insert date), you submitted a permanent residence application under the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada (SCLPC) Class. Because of this, an application for an exemption on H&C grounds is no longer required and it is being returned to you. To request a refund of your application fees, you must send a letter to: 

HPM Production

JET North

300 Slater St., 5th Floor

Ottawa, ON  K1A 1L1

 with the following information:

• your name
• your Canadian mailing address and telephone number
• reason for the refund request and,
• one of the receipts stamped by the bank

Please allow up to eight weeks to receive your refund.

The client number in the upper left corner of this letter is your personal identification number and it provides access to information on your file. For your own protection, do not allow any other person to use this number.

If you require clarification, wish to provide a change of address or other information, visit the CIC Web site at or telephone the Call Centre at 1 (888) 242-2100 (toll free).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Template Letter B: Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) Results

The text of Template Letter A is as follows:

This refers to your application for permanent residence from within Canada on H&C grounds. H&C factors are assessed to determine whether an exemption from certain legislative requirements to allow your application for permanent residence to be processed from within Canada will be granted.

On (insert date), you obtained permanent resident status. As a result, you no longer require a separate application for an exemption on H&C grounds to allow you to be processed for permanent residence from within Canada, and therefore this application is refused.

The application fee that you paid for this application is not refundable. If you have paid the Right of Permanent Residence Fee, it will be refunded in eight to ten weeks.

The client number in the upper left corner of this letter is your personal identification number and it provides access to information on your file. For your own protection, do not allow any other person to use this number.

If you require clarification, wish to provide a change of address or other information, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Web site at or telephone the Call Centre at 1 (888) 242-2100 (toll free).

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)