|
|
|
New Rules Overview
Effective December 1, 2003, the transitional rules included when the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act came into effect on June 28, 2002 have been amended to respond to the needs of those who applied to come to Canada under the rules of the former Immigration Act.
The changes allow for all applicants under the skilled worker and business immigrant classes (i.e. skilled workers, self-employed persons, investors and entrepreneurs), who applied before January 1, 2002, to be assessed under the selection criteria of the former Regulations.
The new dual assessment will allow applicants to be assessed using the selection criteria of the former Immigration Act, or IRPA, whichever is more favourable.
In cases where the result is not positive using one set of selection criteria, the application will automatically be assessed under the selection criteria of the other regulations.
The new Regulations do not apply to applicants who are provincial nominees, or to applicants for permanent residence in the Province of Quebec.
Who is Affected?
The following groups will automatically receive a dual assessment:
Applications still pending or in progress on December 1, 2003, when the new regulations came into force.
Applications referred back by the Federal Court of Canada or the Supreme Court of Canada following a decision under the former Act.
The following groups must reapply before January 1, 2005 to receive the benefit of a dual assessment:
 Applications withdrawn between January 1, 2002 and November 30 2003.
| Applications refused after March 31, 2003 and before June 20, 2003, under the transitional requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Regulations that were in effect during this period. |
How to reapply
To apply under the new transitional rules, you must:
| submit a new IRPA IMM 0008, along with Schedule 1, Schedule 7, and the form "Additional Family Information" (IMM 5406). We also recommend that applicants in the skilled worker category submit a Schedule 3, and applicants in the business categories submit a Schedule 6; |
pay any applicable fees; and
make reference to your previous file number.
Fees
There will be no charge for a dual assessment except:
if you have received a refund for the application fee; or
you wish to add new dependents to your application.
Other Information to Submit
You will not need to submit additional information for assessment under the former Act. But, normally, you will need to submit additional information (such as proof of language ability) for an assessment under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
If you have already received a request for further documents, and have not yet provided them, you should do so as soon as possible.
|
|
