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Immigration Corner | How does Canada screen individuals?

 

Loss of Fingers and Biometrics 
Dear Miss Powell,
I am contemplating applying to live in Canada, but so many of my friends have been rejected. Now, I’m wondering: how does Canada screen individuals to decide who will get a visa? What are they looking for? I was told that they need to take your fingerprints, but I had an accident a few years ago and I loss two of my fingers. Will this stop me from qualifying? I hope that my question is selected for publication.
– A.N.
Dear A.N.,
I am sorry to hear about the loss of your fingers and trust that it has healed, without debilitating effects. You should not let your injury prevent you from applying for permanent residence, if you can prove that you are admissible.
When an individual applies to live permanently in Canada, the government does a background check on everyone to ensure that anyone that is granted entry will not negatively affect the health, safety, and security of those living in Canada.
BIOMETRIC DATA
Everyone who is applying for permanent and temporary resident visa is required to first present their biometric data. Some individuals may be exempted, such as children under 14 years old and some applicants over the age of 79.
The biometric data collected includes your photograph and your fingerprints. The officer is required to take the fingerprints available, if you have a minimum of five of the eight fingerprints, other than the little fingers. That is, a minimum of five fingerprints of index, middle, ring fingers and thumbs. If an individual has recently lost fingers, then the biometrics officer is required to ask you about the circumstances surrounding the loss of your fingers and take the available prints.
The officer will present the prints and report their findings to Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The IRCC will then examine the report and the information provided to decide whether you will need to see a panel physician for further examination.
The panel physician may repeat the collection of the biometric information and may requisition the medical information or a report from the doctors that attended to you when you had the accident, or request pre-accident medical reports, if they are available. The physician’s duty is to assess if your injury was genuine and if it will compromise your ability to work in Canada, or if you are overall healthy or if you will become a burden on the medical system, if you are granted permanent residence.
SECURITY CHECKS
You will be further evaluated to see if there are well-founded suspicions of fraud or malfeasance surrounding your case. You will be required to provide a police report or criminal check from all the countries where you have stayed six months or more. They will be investigating you to ensure that you have not committed a serious crime, not violated human or international rights, and that you do not pose, or not likely to pose a future risk to Canada’s security.
The IRCC and the Canadian border agents have full access to the United States of America (USA) criminal records and FBI background checks. Therefore, if you committed a crime in the USA, even if you did not spend over six months there and did not provide a police report, the IRCC will more than likely deny a visa to anyone with an arrest or a felony charge, even if the crime was not committed in their home country.
If you have previously applied to any other country such as the USA or United Kingdom, and your application was rejected, then it is important to speak with a Canadian immigration lawyer to evaluate your case and ensure that the reasons for the denial and any other issues are clearly addressed.
In summary, the typical background check conducted by the Canadian authority is to verify that the information presented in your application is true. They will verify your medical report, criminal record, education, employment history, family background and financial records (if you are applying under the Express Entry System). If you have legitimate documents, then you have nothing to fear.
Deidre S. Powell is a Canadian immigration lawyer. You may submit your questions and comments via her website www.deidrepowell.com or connect with her via facebook, Instagram or twitter. Tel: 613-695-8777.  CLICK THIS LINK TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENT NOW

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