Operational Bulletin 552 – October 15, 2013
Summary
This Operational Bulletin lists the procedure for:
- Rectifying the loss of an application for Permanent Residence under humanitarian and compassionate grounds
- Contacting the client and replacing the initial application and its supporting documents
Context
The Refugee Operations Division (ROD) recently carried out a verification of the pre-2008 inventory. This inventory comprised:
- Permanent residence requests under humanitarian and compassionate grounds and,
- Pre-removal Risk Assessment Requests (PRRA)
The ROD found that nine of the 765 files inventoried had been lost. To confirm the loss, the ROD contacted:
- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)
- The Backlog Reduction Offices and,
- Various local offices
Thereafter, the ROD contacted the Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) Division. This was in accordance with the procedures governing breaches of privacy. The ROD then sent a comprehensive report to the ATIP Division. The report outlined the facts and described the checks conducted for tracing the lost files. If required, the ATIP Division would submit this report to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada.
The creation of the CBSA occurred in December 2003. Its creation led to a separation of documents in physical files. The consequent movement of files between the CBSA and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) led to the loss of these files. Following this verification drive, the ROD prescribed the use of an effective inventory management system.
Procedures
To remedy this situation, the Backlog Reduction Office in Vancouver (BRO-V) will contact the affected clients. It will commence the forward movement and processing of these files on a priority basis.
To process each lost file:
- The BRO-V would send an initial letter to the client via registered mail to the client’s last known address
- This letter would contain directives that clients need to follow
- It would also inform clients that they need to submit all new documents within 30 days
- The BRO-V would verify the client’s file after the 30-day timeline elapses
- If the client provides the documents needed for processing the application, the BRO-V would process the file on a priority basis
- If the client does not revert at all, the office would:
- Verify the accuracy of the client’s coordinates (based on Section 9.4 of IP5 that deals with the loss of contact with the applicant)
- Send a second letter with a fresh deadline of 30 days, via registered mail after verifying the details and adding notes to the file
- If the client does not revert to the second letter, the office would send a final notice via registered mail
- If the client does not revert to the final notice, the BRO-V would close the file with appropriate comments in the:
- Field Operations Support System (FOSS) and,
- National Case Management System (NCMS)
- If the client contacts the office after closure of the file, the office would re-open the file if:
- The client states that they did not receive any correspondence relating to their file
- The BRO-V would scan each letter and transfer them to the ROD for onward transferring to the ATIP Division (according to ATIP directives)
Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)
