Operational Bulletin 360-A – September 22, 2014

Entrepreneur Class Terms and Conditions   

Summary

On occasions, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) receives unsolicited documents and records. Usually, people landing under the federal entrepreneur class submit these documents and records. The authorities had however, terminated the federal entrepreneurship class recently.

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides instructions and guidance on this subject. It contains the steps officers need to take regarding these unsolicited documents and records. This Operational Bulletin (OB) complements the instructions provided in OB 360.

Background

The authorities stopped active monitoring of terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) for entrepreneurs. They did so under Section 98 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The authorities implemented this decision pursuant to CIC’s Strategic Review. This decision came into effect on February 01, 2012.

The only exceptions to this decision were in cases where:

• The entrepreneur had contravened the conditions and,
• The officers could find no extenuating circumstances that contributed to the failure of the entrepreneur  to:
• Comply with the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) of the entrepreneur class or,
• Satisfy the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) of the entrepreneur class

Therefore, the officers instructed entrepreneurs not to provide evidence of compliance to the CIC. There was only one exception to this scenario. This was when a CIC official specifically asked the entrepreneur to provide evidence of compliance. Typically, evidence of compliance includes documents like:

• The Mail-in Card for Entrepreneurs Form (IMM 5548)
• The Entrepreneur Monitoring Report Form (IMM 5486)
• The Application to Remove Entrepreneur Conditions Form (IMM 5547) or,
• Any other related information

Recently, the authorities placed a revised web notice. The notice advised entrepreneurs that they would no longer need to provide any of the documents mentioned above. There was only one exception to this scenario. This was when a CIC official specifically asked the entrepreneur to provide evidence of compliance.

The Instructions

Situations could arise where an entrepreneur submits documents like:

• The Mail-in Card for Entrepreneurs Form (IMM 5548)
• The Entrepreneur Monitoring Report Form (IMM 5486)
• The Application to Remove Entrepreneur Conditions Form (IMM 5547) or,
• Any other supporting information

In this situation, CIC staff are not obliged to keep these unsolicited submissions. Situations could arise where the CIC staff or the Call Centre receive enquiries about the documentation to meet the terms and conditions (Ts & Cs). In this scenario, the CIC staff or the Call Centre would need to refer the caller to the appropriate page on the CIC website.

In certain situations, an entrepreneur might have submitted original documents to the CIC. To remedy this, the CIC staff could:

• Arrange for the return of any original documents at the client’s expense or,
• Return the originals along with a letter informing the client that the CIC is not retaining the documents
• The letter must also state that CIC would contact the entrepreneur in case they require the information in the future

Some submissions could contain various pieces of personal or business-related information. In this scenario, the CIC staff would need to determine which documents they would need to return to the clients. Thereafter, they would need to dispose of any remaining documents. This is to comply with:

• Federal security standards
• Privacy protection standards and,
• The guidelines issued by the Treasury Board Secretariat i.e. Retention and Disposal of Personal Information

Overseas missions would need to continue advising any remaining approved entrepreneur class permanent resident applicants. They would need to counsel these applicants to meet the conditions described in subsections 98 (1) to (3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). At the same time, overseas missions would also need to notify these applicants about a specific stipulation. They would need to inform the applicants that the applicants would only need to provide evidence referenced under subsections 98 (4) and (5) in certain events. Thus, the applicants would need to provide evidence referenced under these subsections only if a CIC official expressly requests for it.

Situations might arise where certain entrepreneur class permanent residents have conditions recorded on their Confirmation of Permanent Residence. These conditions could mention that the entrepreneurs no longer need to:

• Provide the monitoring card or,
• Complete the IMM 5547 form

In this situation, border services officers at ports of entry would need to notify the entrepreneur class permanent residents about these requirements.

In some situations, inland officers could come across entrepreneurs, whose terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) are still outstanding. In these situations, inland officers would need to request the entrepreneur to complete the IMM 5547 form. However, they would only do so if:

• At least three years have elapsed since the entrepreneur became a permanent resident and,
• If there is no information that might have a negative effect on the entrepreneur’s immigration status such as:
• Non-computer based entries
• Enforcement information indexes
• 44 reports

Citizenship officers should not delay applicants for a grant of citizenship. This is especially so if the entrepreneur:

• Has outstanding terms and conditions (Ts & Cs) under Section 98 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) and,
• There is no other information that could have a negative impact on the entrepreneur’s immigration status such as:
• Non-computer based entries
• Enforcement information indexes
• 44 reports

In this scenario, citizenship officers would first need to confirm that no such information exists. Thereafter, the citizenship officers would need to indicate “Passed” in the relevant immigration clearance “Sub-activities” applet. This applet is a part of the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)