Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs) – Processing – The Final Decisions and Issuing the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – Negative Decisions

In cases where the applicants have submitted their requests and the appropriate fees, the designated decision maker will need to:

• Record the refusal decision in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
• Inform the applicant of a negative decision in writing (for all inland cases) and,
• Follow up or monitor to ensure compliance – this will involve verifying the confirmation of departure or a check-out letter

The authorities require that the letter should communicate the following (as applicable):

• The duration and limitation of existing valid temporary status
• The reasons for the decision
• The requirements concerning voluntary departure and confirmation of departure
• The notice to appear for enquiry and information about the penalties for the failure to comply and,
• The mechanisms available for overcoming the inadmissibility

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – Positive Decisions for In-Canada Cases

In In-Canada cases, the designated decision maker will need to prepare a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) by:

• Processing the application until finalisation in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
• Entering all the relevant case notes
• Ensuring that the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) has the appropriate validity dates
• Indicating whether or not the authorities will permit the individual to re-enter
• Preparing a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) for each accompanying family member who requires a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) and,
• Maintaining a ‘Bring Forward’ system for follow-ups

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – Positive Decisions for Overseas Cases

The authorities require the designated decision maker to authorise the issuance of the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). Thereafter, the officers will need to:

• Generate the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
  • In addition, the officers will need to issue a letter of introduction, which bears the Unique Client Identifier (UCI) of the applicant
  • The applicant will need to present this letter of introduction at the Port of Entry (POE) where the client will enter Canada
  • It is worth mentioning that the officers will need to ensure that they print the document number generated by the Global Case Management System (GCMS) at the top right-hand corner of the letter
  • The authorities do not require any letter of introduction for cases processed according to the Immigration Control manual chapter i.e. IC2 for national interest
• Inform the applicant to bring two passport-sized photographs for presentation at the Port of Entry (POE)
• Affix the visa counterfoil in the valid passport or travel document for foreign nationals who are subject to the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) requirement
  • It is worth mentioning that the authorities no longer issue physical, secure facilitation counterfoils (refer to Appendix A) to visa exempt applicants when these individuals receive the approval for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)
  • Instead, the system will create an electronic facilitation counterfoil (eFoil) once the officers generate the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) in the Global Case Management System (GCMS)
  • However, this process is not visible to the applicants
  • In addition, the authorities do not require applicants to print anything as a result of receiving an electronic facilitation counterfoil (eFoil)
  • It is worth mentioning that the authorities issue the electronic facilitation counterfoil (eFoil) to these applicants to ensure that the airport security permits them to embark on their flights, following airline verification of their passport and travel documents via the Canada Border Services Agency’s (CBSA’s) Interactive Advance Passenger Information system
  • At present, this system is available in air mode only
• Issue the facilitation travel documents for approved applicants for a single entry when the authorities have not given any authorisation for re-entering Canada and,
• Issue the facilitation travel documents for multiple entries to Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) holders with the authorisation for re-entering Canada and to people who have the approval for permits with re-entry privileges to Canada – unless otherwise stipulated in the Immigration Control manual chapter i.e. chapter IC2
  • It is worth mentioning that these documents will need to be valid for the same span of time as the passport or the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) (if already issued) – whichever is shorter

Officers will also need to transfer the permanent resident files to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) for early admission cases. This would enable the officers to complete the process. In addition, it would enable the officers to explain to the applicant that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will contact them upon receiving the visa office file.

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – Recording Prohibiting Sections (Inadmissibility)

The authorities require the designated decision makers to:

• Record the foreign national’s inadmissibility in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) – this is in accordance with the provisions specified in sections 34 to 42 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)
• Ensure that an inadmissibility under the provisions specified in section A41 (i.e. non-compliance) does not appear alone on the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
• Ensure that the part of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) or the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) that the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) holder cannot comply with or fulfill appears on the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) as well
• For instance, consider that the provisions specified in subsection A11 (1) require every foreign national to apply to an officer for a visa or other documents required by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), prior to entering Canada
  • On occasions, the authorities might permit these applicants to enter Canada without fulfilling this requirement
  • In such cases, the officers will need to record the following sequence as the inadmissibility: section A41 with section A11 (1)

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – The Type of Case Code

The authorities require that the type of case code recorded by the officers should be the same for all the members of a family. As such, the type of case code will remain the same even for the codes corresponding to inadmissibility on the grounds of health or criminality. It is worth mentioning that not all family members might have negative criminal or medical assessments. However, if even one of the family members has a negative criminal or medical assessment, the officers will need to ensure that the same type of case code appears on each family member’s Temporary Resident Permit (TRP).

It is worth highlighting that the type of case code is different from the prohibiting section code. On occasions, officers might code a family member as an inadmissible family member. However, the type of case code will need to be the same for all members of the family.

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – The Verification of Departure

The authorities might require the designated decision maker to provide a verification of departure in certain cases. This will typically depend on the prohibiting sections. In addition, it will depend on the instructions issued by the designated authority. Officers will need to use case type 96 in cases where the authorities require a verification of departure. In addition, they will need to issue a letter that instructs the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) holder to report to an officer when leaving Canada. When an applicant reports a departure to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the officer will need to record the permit holder’s departure in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

The Procedures for Designated Decision Makers – The Counselling of Applicants

The authorities require officers to counsel applicants, in writing or in person, that the applicants:

• Could apply for work or study permits where eligible if they wish to work or study in Canada
• Could apply for private health insurance, in case they are not eligible for provincial health insurance
• Could submit applications to the Central Processing Centre in Vegreville (CPC-V) for a subsequent Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) and,
• Will always remain subject to examination when they re-enter Canada and could be refused entry into Canada by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), even if the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) authorises a re-entry

Officers will also need to counsel applicants, in writing or in person, that the applicants will need to:

• Obtain a temporary resident counterfoil from a Canadian visa office abroad for returning to Canada in case they leave Canada and have the authorisation to re-enter
  • It is worth highlighting that this directive only applies if the applicants are subject to the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) requirement
• Leave Canada before the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) expires and,
• Confirm their departure from Canada and return the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) to an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) when instructed to do so

Situations could arise where the officers issue Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs) to a family with one or more inadmissible members. In this scenario, the officers will need to consider:

• Issuing a separate Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or a separate counterfoil to each individual family member
• Recording the inadmissibility sections that best describe the person on the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
• Being mindful of the fact that a person requiring a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) because one family member is inadmissible has been described by the provisions specified in section A42
• Ensuring that the type of case code is the same for all members of the family, even if the family members are inadmissible under different sections
  • For instance, if one family member is inadmissible on criminal or health grounds, officers will need to ensure that that type of case code appears on everyone’s Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs)
• Informing all family members to whom the authorities have issued a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) for the require time span that these individuals will become eligible for applying for permanent residence in the permit holder class

The Summary

It is worth mentioning that Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will no longer issue a counterfoil to applicants approved for permanent residence from visa exempt countries. As such, the officers will continue to issue a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) document to all approved applicants.

The Background

At present, the authorities issue a counterfoil and a seal in the passport to all applicants approved for permanent residence in the passport that these individuals are using for their initial travel to Canada to become permanent residents. This applies to applicants approved for permanent residence even from countries exempt from the Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) requirement.

The Instructions

With effect from December 01, 2011, the missions ceased to issue a counterfoil to applicants approved for permanent residence. This was especially so in case the ‘CNTRY OF ISS. OF TRAVEL DOC.’ Field on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) document identified a regular passport issued by the United States of America or a country specified in the sections 190 (1) (a), 190 (1) (b), 190 (2) (b), 190 (2) (c), 190 (2) (d), 190 (2) (e), 190 (2) (f) or 190 (2.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

The authorities permit officers to use their discretion in determining whether it is necessary for them to see the original passport or whether a photocopy of all the passport pages is sufficient. It is worth mentioning that a photocopy of only the bio-date page is not acceptable. This is because the authorities might have made notations on other pages that pertain to the individual’s name, marital status or other relevant information. This change in procedure does not remove the requirement that the staff will need to record the passport information of the approved applicant in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) or the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS). In addition, officers will need to be mindful of the fact that line 33 on the Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) document continues to reflect the date by which an approved permanent resident applicant will need to enter Canada.

The authorities have informed the Border Services Officers (BSOs) of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Liaison Officer network in Canada and abroad of this change. The authorities have produced a communique for the transportation companies as well. As such, the Border Services Officers (BSOs) of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will need to continue to evaluate individuals at the Primary Inspection Line. Thereafter, they will need to determine which people are immigrating to Canada and refer those new immigrants to Immigration Secondary for the finalisation of their permanent resident status.

In some cases, the authorities might not have finalised the new immigrant at the Port of Entry (POE) as required. In this scenario, the staff will need to advise the individual to contact the Call Centre of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) at 1 888 242 2100 for options to correct their status in Canada. The Call Centre staff will need to continue to follow their current procedures when immigrants who require finalisation of their permanent resident status get in touch with them.

The Procedures Related to Systems

The users of the Global Case Management System (GCMS) have the ability to indicate whether they need to print a counterfoil for approved permanent resident applicants. For more information on how these users will be able to flag the need for a counterfoil, these users will need to refer to the online help given in the Global Case Management System (GCMS). In addition, they could refer to the Global Case Management System (GCMS) release notes of July 2011 (given in section 5.4) for setting up a default as well.

Users of Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS) will need to incorporate a workaround to their existing process in order to avoid printing a counterfoil. As such, officers will need to print the counterfoil on regular paper. Thereafter, they would need to proceed to confirming the printing in the Computer Assisted Immigration Processing System (CAIPS) print. This is exactly the same process that they continue to follow even to this day.