Every industry has its own language and terms. These words and phrases can be confusing to anyone who is not part of the daily operations of a specific sector, and the immigration business is no exception.
To help you understand the terms, acronyms, and phrases regularly used when going through the immigration process, Way2Can, Canadian Immigration Consulting Inc., has created this handy reference guide. Here, you’ll find valuable information to comprehend and communicate your immigration needs effectively.
Accompanying family member, or, Accompanying dependent: A spouse, common-law partner, dependent children, and grandchildren who plans to immigrate to Canada with the principal applicant. The accompanying family members get included in the application.
Inadmissibility/ Inadmissible Person: It’s when a person is not allowed to enter or stay in Canada. The reasons include security concerns, criminal offenses, human rights violations, health, financial, and failure to comply with Canada’s immigration laws.
Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA): A Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is a document that an employer in Canada must usually get before hiring a foreign worker. A positive LMIA will show a need for a foreign worker to fill the job that no Canadian worker can do. A positive LMIA is sometimes called a confirmation letter. If you need an LMIA, your employer must send an application to the Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).
Low-Income Cut-Off (LICO), or Minimum Necessary Income: It’s the income levels set out by the Government of Canada where a family spends a higher percentage on necessities than other families. A family must be above the cut-off to sponsor a family member to immigrate to Canada or host parents or grandparents for an extended stay.
Misrepresentation: When a person makes false statements, submits incorrect information, submits altered documents, or withholds information relevant to their application to IRCC, it’s a crime.
Documents can include passports and travel documents, visas, diplomas, degrees, apprenticeship or trade papers, birth, marriage, final divorce, annulment, separation, death certificates, and police certificates.
Lying in an application or interview with an IRCC officer is also an offense under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Citizenship Act.
Misrepresentation bars a person from being granted Canadian citizenship for five years.
Suppose misrepresentation is found to have occurred after someone becomes a citizen. In that case, this can result in the revocation of their citizenship, and this individual must wait ten years before they can get granted citizenship again.
National Occupational Classification (NOC): It lists all the occupations in the Canadian labor market and describes each job according to skill type and level. The NOC collects and organizes job statistics and provides labor market information. It also gets used as a basis for specific immigration requirements.
Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA): A thorough process that evaluates whether a person would face persecution, torture, a risk to life, or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned to their country of origin.
Work permit: A document issued by IRCC authorizing a person to work legally in Canada. It sets out conditions for the worker such as:
1- the type of work they can do,
2- the employer they can work for,
3- where they can work, and
4- how long they can work.
Temporary resident permit: A permit granted in exceptional circumstances to a person who doesn’t meet the requirements of Canada’s immigration law to enter or remain in the country.
Safe Third Country: It’s a nation other than Canada and the country of alleged persecution, where an individual may claim refugee protection. In Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act outlines the criteria for designating a country as a safe third country.
Right of permanent residence fee: A charge paid by a principal applicant (with some exceptions) and a spouse or common-law partner traveling with them before becoming a permanent resident of Canada.
Immigration Consultant or Representative: A person who has the permission of someone wanting to immigrate to Canada or obtain Canadian citizenship to conduct business with IRCC on their behalf. The representative can be paid or unpaid. When someone appoints a representative, they may also authorize IRCC to share information from their case file with this person. Canada’s citizenship and immigration laws cover representatives and define the terms of their services.
Relationship of convenience, or, marriages of convenience: A marriage, common-law relationship, conjugal partnership, or adoption that’s not genuine or entered into for status or privilege in Canada. People in these relationships are not members of the family class.
Refugee claimant: Someone who’s applied for refugee protection status while in Canada and is waiting for the verdict of their claim from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.
Provincial or territorial nominee: Someone nominated for immigration to Canada by a provincial or territorial government with a Provincial Nominee Program. Nominees have the skills, education, and work experience needed to make an immediate economic contribution to the province or territory that nominates them.
If you’re looking for an immigration consultant, reach out to the experts at Way2Can, Canadian Immigration Consulting Inc.
Our services include student visas, temporary work permits, temporary resident visas, permanent applications, refugee protection programs, and inadmissibility.
We serve clients across Mississauga, Oshawa, London, Kitchener, Niagara Falls, Markham, Scarborough, and the GTA.
We also offer our services globally in UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Kingdom Of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Palestine, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, India, and China.
Please view our complete list of services here, or get in touch with us here.