Operational Bulletin 524 – May 16, 2013
Processing Immigration Applications where Ministerial Relief Has Been Requested
Issue
This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides instructions concerning the processing of Applications for Permanent Residence (APR). These instructions deal with applications for permanent residence that:
- Are currently in the inventory from persons, who are inadmissible on grounds of:
- Security (A34)
- Human international rights violations (A35) or,
- Organised criminality (A37) AND,
- Have an outstanding application seeking Ministerial Relief (MR)
This OB also provides instructions for newly submitted applications. However, these applications must belong to people, who are inadmissible under the sections A34, A35 and A37.
Situations could arise where a person, who is inadmissible under paragraph 35 (1) (a) of the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, submits an application for permanent residence. Such individuals would have committed an act deemed an offence by the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, outside Canada. Officers would need to note that such individuals are not eligible to receive relief. This is in accordance with the stipulations prescribed in subsection 35 (2).
In addition, officers would come across application for permanent residence that are pending a decision on a Ministerial Relief (MR) request. Currently, officers used to hold such cases in abeyance. However, they would no longer do this. The authorities are in the process of updating the relevant manuals at present. The updated manuals would reflect this change.
Background
The Current Policy and Procedures
Officers would often come across applications for permanent residence that are pending a decision on a Ministerial Relief (MR) request. As per existing instructions, they would refer to Chapter IP 10 (Refusal of National Security Cases / Processing of National Interest Requests) contained in the Inland Processing Manual.
This chapter instructed officers to hold such applications for permanent residence in abeyance. Officers needed to hold these applications in abeyance until the Minister of Public Safety had reached a decision. The decision could:
- Provide Ministerial Relief under the relevant sections or,
- Refuse Ministerial Relief under the relevant sections
The New Instructions
There is no temporal aspect to subsection 34 (2). The Federal Court of Appeal established this in the case Poshteh v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration): 2005 FCA 121. This signifies that an applicant has the ability to submit a Ministerial Relief (MR) request at any time. It also establishes that officers could process applications for permanent residence to finalisation. However, officers would only do this if the applicant has submitted a Ministerial Relief (MR) application. In addition, officers would not consider the status of the Ministerial Relief (MR) application when they process the applications for permanent residence to finalisation. Officers would also continue to process the Ministerial Relief (MR) request accordingly. Thereafter, the Minister of Public Safety would take a final decision.
The authorities had updated IP 5 to highlight that officers could hold applications for permanent residence in abeyance. However, officers could only do this for applications pending a Ministerial Relief (MR) decision. This was in stark contrast to earlier instructions. The earlier instructions authorised officers to hold applications for permanent residence in abeyance automatically.
The new instruction enables officers to render a final decision on a case-by-case basis. It also allows them to exercise flexibility. That too, based on the applicant’s circumstances.
Therefore, all Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers would need to discontinue the practice of automatically holding incoming applications for permanent residence. This pertains to all applications for permanent residence that are awaiting a Ministerial Relief (MR) decision from the Minister of Public Safety. Instead, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers would need to render a decision on all applications for permanent residence.
The Procedure for Applications Pending a Minister’s Decision on Ministerial Relief Currently in Inventory
As per existing practice, officers hold in abeyance applications for permanent residence made by persons who:
- Are inadmissible under:
- A34
- A35 or,
- A37 AND,
- Have a pending Ministerial Relief (MR) application
However, officers would no longer need to keep such applications for permanent residence in abeyance. Instead, they would need to proceed with rendering a decision on the files currently held in abeyance. In addition, they would need to consult with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for determining whether a Ministerial Relief (MR) decision could be imminent.
Situations could arise where the authorities refuse an application for permanent residence. In this scenario, officers would need to notify the applicants that they could submit new applications for permanent residence. However, this would only apply in case the applicants receive a favourable decision concerning their Ministerial Relief (MR) application.
The Procedure for New Applications
As per existing practice, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) officers hold in abeyance applications for permanent residence made by persons who:
- Are inadmissible under:
- A34
- A35 or,
- A37 AND,
- Have a pending Ministerial Relief (MR) application
Officers have the authority to refuse applications for permanent residence based on the inadmissibility of the applicants. In such cases, the officers would need to notify the applicants that they could proceed to submitting a new application for permanent residence. However, the applicants would only be able to submit a new application for permanent residence if they receive a favourable decision concerning their Ministerial Relief (MR) application.
Officers do not need to notify or inform the applicant about the possibility of requesting for Ministerial Relief (MR) (wherever applicable). The applicant bears the responsibility for requesting for relief under the national interest provisions. Therefore, the applicant would need to initiate the process for requesting relief. This process is a distinctly separate process from the immigration application.
The Ministerial Relief Unit at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) receives and processes all requests for Ministerial Relief (MR). Therefore, officers would need to address all correspondence and submissions concerning Ministerial Relief (MR) applications to this unit at:
Ministerial Relief Unit
Canada Border Services Agency
100 Metcalfe Street
10th floor, #1029
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0L8
Directing all correspondence and submissions concerning Ministerial Relief (MR) applications to the above-mentioned address would help streamline the process of responding to:
- Process enquiries and / or,
- Case enquiries
In addition, officers could also receive electronic correspondence or submissions. Therefore, officers would need to send these to the Section electronically at: Ministerial_Relief.Exemptions_Ministerielles@CBSA-ASFC.GC.CA.
Staff at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) monitor the Ministerial Relief mailbox on a daily basis. Therefore, they would acknowledge all enquiries within a 24-hour period. They operate from 8 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday (excluding statutory holidays).
The Procedure in Cases where Ministerial Relief has been Granted
Situations could arise where the applicant still wants to apply for permanent or temporary residence. That too, after the Minister for Public Safety has granted Ministerial Relief (MR), on the heels of a negative decision on an application for permanent residence. In situations like this, officers would need to counsel the applicants that they would need to:
- Submit a new application and,
- Pay the applicable fees
This is in accordance with the provisions contained within the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Contact Information
Officers might need to refer to further information on the procedures outlined in this OB. For this, they would need to contact the Program Integrity Division in the Operational Management and Coordination Branch of CIC at: OMC-GOC-Immigration@cic.gc.ca.
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
