Operational Bulletin 593 – November 04, 2014

The Implementation of Ministerial Instructions Stopping the Intake and Processing of Permanent Residence and Temporary Residence Applications from Individuals who Have Resided in, Travelled to, or Transited through Ebola Affected Countries

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) gives operational instructions to officers. These instructions concern the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) that affect applications from the following individuals:

• Individuals, who have resided in Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months
• Individuals, who have travelled to Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months and,
• Individuals, who have transited through Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months

Background

Ministerial Instructions (MIs) serve to provide the best support to the attainment of the immigration goals established by the Government of Canada. This is in accordance with Section 87.3 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

The Ministerial Instructions (MIs)

The Minister issued Ministerial Instructions (MIs), which the Canada Gazette published on October 31, 2014. These Ministerial Instructions (MIs) aimed at protecting the public health and safety of Canadians against the threat of the Ebola virus disease.

As a result, these Ministerial Instructions (MIs) affected applications from individuals, who:

• Have resided in Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months
• Have travelled to Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months and,
• Have transited through Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months

In particular, the Ministerial Instructions (MIs):

• Instruct officers to stop processing new applications for Temporary Residence (TR)
• Instruct officers to stop processing pending Temporary Residence (TR) applications
• Instruct officers to stop processing new applications for Permanent Residence (PR) and,
• Instruct officers to withhold the issuance of Permanent Resident (PR) visas

These instructions apply to applicants who:

• Have resided in Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months
• Have travelled to Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months and,
• Have transited through Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) during the last three months

The Ministerial Instructions (MIs) define the Ebola Affected Countries (EAC) as countries that have widespread and persistent (or intense) transmission of the Ebola virus disease. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already identified these countries.

The Ministerial Instructions (MIs) do not apply to all the:

• Permanent Resident (PR) types of applications and,
• Temporary Resident (TR) types of applications

Therefore, the officers would first need to determine whether the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) apply to the type of application submitted by the applicant. Thereafter, the officers would need to assess whether the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) describe the applicants themselves too.

The Types of Applications Affected by the Ministerial Instructions (MIs)

Officers would need to note that the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) only apply to foreign nationals. In particular, they apply to foreign nationals, who require a visa. 

Officers must note that the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) do not apply to:

• In-Canada refugee claims
• Permanent resident travel documents
• Permanent resident cards or,
• Any citizenship applications

The Ministerial Instructions (MIs) remain concerned with the applicant’s physical location. However, they do not have any concerns over whether the officers consider an application to be:

• An in-Canada application or,
• An “outside Canada” application

The Process for Determining Whether the Authorities Have Described the Applicant in the Ministerial Instructions (MIs)

The Process to Follow if Officers Receive New Information after the Temporary Residence File is in Process

The Process to Follow if the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) Describe the Applicant

High Profile Cases from Applicants Described in the Ministerial Instructions (MIs)

The Process for Requests for Considerations on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) Grounds

Officers would need to note that in certain cases the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) do not prevent certain requests from overcoming the guidelines prescribed by the Ministerial Instructions (MIs). This is especially so in terms of requests for Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) consideration. 

Officers could come across various requests for overcoming the Ministerial Instructions (MIs) based on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) considerations. In this scenario, the officers could consider these requests. However, they would still need to adhere to the normal procedures prescribed.

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)