Temporary Immigration Programs.

Temporary immigration affords essential economic benefits to Canada as thousands of people visit, study, or work temporarily in Canada each year. As per 2019 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, Canada issued more than six million visas and electronic travel authorizations to visitors, international students, and temporary workers in 2018 alone. Temporary residents are foreign nationals who are permitted to enter and remain in Canada for a specified period and must leave by the end of the period authorized for their stay. The following distinctions are made between each class of temporary residence program based on the activity the foreign national intends to undertake while temporarily residing in Canada:

• a visitor (includes travellers and tourists) must apply with temporary resident status (i.e., a temporary resident visa),
• an international student is admitted with temporary resident status and then is granted a study permit; and
• a foreign worker is admitted with temporary resident status and then is granted a work permit.

Citizenship Laws.

A person is not a citizen of Canada merely because they have lived in Canada for an extended period. Canadian citizenship may be obtained because of being born in Canada, being born or adopted outside of Canada by a Canadian citizen, or being granted citizenship through naturalization.

Since the first Canadian Citizenship Act became law on January 1, 1947, marking the beginning of Canadian citizenship as a legal status. Canada was the first Commonwealth country to create its own citizenship class separate from Great Britain. Since the 1980s, there has been debate about citizenship, including whether Canada is too generous or too strict when granting citizenship to newcomers, the loss of citizenship, and birth on Canadian soil to foreign nationals, which has resulted in several amendments to the Citizenship Act. In Canada, permanent residents have a right to enter and remain in Canada as long as they fulfill their obligations and maintain their status. However, unlike Canadian citizens, they are not permitted to vote or hold political office and do not have the civic duty of serving on jury duty.

Appeals, Admissibility Hearings & Detentions.

Generally, in administrative law, an applicant who is denied the right or benefit sought may wish to dispute the decision. Depending on the governing statutory framework, this challenge may include the right to appeal to an independent tribunal or seek leave for a judicial review. Appeals and judicial reviews are very different in terms of procedures, grounds upon which one may dispute the decision, and available remedies.

Board members of the IAD hear immigration appeals, and members of the RAD hear appeals of refugee claims. Individuals who have a right to appeal to one of the appellate divisions have the right to counsel, the right to an interpreter, the right to present and call witnesses, and the right to be heard—either through a written application process or by hearing—before an independent and impartial decision-maker. The IAD has jurisdiction to hear and decide appeals from decisions of the CBSA, IRCC, or the ID, pursuant to section 62 of the IRPA, and may consider whether the decision was wrong in law, fact, or mixed law and fact, or whether there was a breach of natural justice.