The authorities might allow some applicants to return to Canada if:

• The applicants have received a positive Stage 1 assessment after removal from Canada by the Minister – in accordance with the provisions specified in R239 – or,
• The applicants have left Canada voluntarily and are not otherwise inadmissible

However, the authorities do not need to re-admit applicants who have received a positive Stage 1 Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) assessment and who wish to return to Canada for finalising the applications.

Situations could arise where the authorities make a positive Stage 1 assessment after the applicant has left Canada. In this scenario, the officers would need to send a Stage 1 approval letter and a IMM 5669 Schedule A to the applicant and / or the counsel.

The officers would need to give the applicant 60 days for responding. In case the applicant does not respond, the officers have the authority to make a final decision with the information on the file. In case the applicant provides the information as requested, the officers would need to send the application for Stage 2 processing.

The Positive Stage 2 Assessment – The Applicant Has Left Canada

Following a positive Stage 1 assessment, the applicants and their family members listed on the IMM 0008 would need to undergo various medical, security and criminal checks. This is in accordance with the norms prescribed as part of the admissibility assessment. Therefore, applicants would need to:

• Be admissible
• Meet all the other requirements specified in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)
  • This would typically include meeting the requirements specified in R72 as well
• Have passports, unless the authorities exempted them from this requirement

In addition to these requirements, applicants in Quebec would need to meet the prescribed provincial criteria as well.

The Concurrent Processing of Family Members for Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) Applicants

Family members who are in Canada could become permanent residents concurrently with a principal applicant in Canada. However, the officers would not be able to process family members who are outside Canada for permanent resident visas concurrently with the principal applicant in Canada. However, the officers have the ability to process these family members as members of the family class supported by a sponsorship. But, it is worth highlighting that the officers would only be able to do this once the applicant becomes a permanent resident.

The Statutory Requirements

• The Background Verifications – Criminal and Security Checks
  • The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is responsible for performing the security screening
  • Similarly, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is responsible for conducting the screening for criminal records on behalf of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
  • Officers would need to request security screening from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) via the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
  • As such, officers would need to instruct the applicants to obtain police certificates for the countries in which they spent more than six months after attaining 18 years of age
  • For family members abroad, the appropriate visa office would need to initiate the background verifications for the applicant’s family members abroad
  • For more details on this, officers would need to refer to Section 13 of OP 24 titled ‘Family Members of Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) Applicants in Canada’
• The Medical Examination
  • The officers would need to issue the relevant instructions for the medical examination to the applicant and the dependent family members
  • The authorities typically consider the medical officer’s opinions as extrinsic information
  • As such, if the officers find an applicant or any family member to be medically inadmissible, they would need to inform the applicant and provide them with the opportunity to make the appropriate submissions
• The Results of Statutory Requirements (which are valid as follows)
  • For criminal checks
    • It is worth highlighting that criminal checks typically have no specific validity date
    • As such, the officers would need to refer to the National Case Management System (NCMS) or the Field Operations Support System (FOSS) for any information about recent charges or convictions
    • In case one year has elapsed from the time of the criminal check (or whenever the situation warrants it), officers would need to carry out a new Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) check
  • Security checks
    • The results of security checks remain valid for 48 months
    • In some cases, it is possible that the results might have expired
    • In this scenario, the officers would need to submit a new request for screening to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) through the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
  • Medical checks
    • Medical results typically remain valid for 12 months from the date of the medical assessment
    • For more information on this, officers would need to refer to the following sections on the website of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC):
      • The validity of a medical certificate and,
      • The reassessments for a new medical certificate
• The Waiver of Passport Requirement
  • It is worth highlighting that all foreign nationals would need to possess a document described in the provisions specified in R50 (1) e.g. passports or other acceptable identity documents
  • This requirement applies to all foreign nationals except for protected persons
  • Only then would these foreign nationals be able to become permanent residents – based on the provisions specified in R72 (1) (e) (ii)
  • Situations could arise where applicants might not have valid passports
  • In this scenario, the officers have the ability to consider waiving the passport requirement on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) grounds
  • However, the officers would only do this once they are completely satisfied about the identity of the applicants
  • Certain situations are perfectly appropriate for officers to grant a waiver of the requirement for passports
  • These situations include, but are not limited to occasions when:
    • The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has seized the passport of the applicant and the officers can find no mention in the file or in the Field Operations Support System that the applicant’s identity is a concern
    • The applicant has provided other identity documents that are sufficient for establishing the individual’s identity and,
    • The applicant had a valid passport that has since expired
  • Once the authorities grant the exemption from the passport requirement, the officers would need to insert certain remarks in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
  • In addition, the officers would need to send a letter to the applicant that contain the following statement ‘I grant an exemption from subparagraph 72(1)(e)(ii) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for [name of person(s)].’
  • It is worth highlighting that the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) seized the passports or travel documents of certain individuals
  • For more details on this, officers would need to go through OB 553