The Negative Stage 1 Assessment – The Procedures Following a Negative Stage 1 Assessment
It is worth highlighting that to become permanent residents, the applicants would need to meet the requirements specified in R68. According to these requirements, the applicants would need to ensure that they and their family members, whether accompanying or not:
- Are not inadmissible and,
- Meet the requirements specified in the Act and the Regulations (unless they have the relevant exemptions for meeting the requirements at Stage 1)
Officers would need to assess all the information relating to the requirements and admissibility of the applicants. They would need to continue doing this until the authorities grant permanent residence to the applicant. This typically includes the permanent residence interview. The authorities have the ability to make a final negative decision at any time during processing. This is especially the case when they find that the applicant or the applicant’s family members are inadmissible.
The Procedures Following a Negative Stage 1 Assessment
After a negative Stage 1 assessment, the officers would need to:
- Send refusal letters to the applicants informing them that the authorities will not be granting the exemptions requested
- Instruct the applicants to leave Canada as specified below in case the applicants do not have valid immigration status in Canada:
- In case the officers find that voluntary departure is appropriate, they would need to provide the appropriate instructions for confirming the departure and thereafter, follow up to see if the client departs
- In case the officers find that there is no confirmation of departure within the time allotted, they would need to notify the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) informing them that they believe that the client is still in Canada without any status
- In case the officers come across an outstanding removal order, they would need to notify the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) Removals Unit of the negative decision
- Update the paper file and the Global Case Management System (GCMS) with the refusal information
The Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
Situations could arise where the authorities refuse the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) application. However, the officers might find that some of these cases could warrant the issuance of Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs). This would usually be the case in situations such as those given below:
- The officers might find that a family member included in a permanent residence application cannot receive permanent residence because of an inadmissibility
- In this scenario, the officers would need to issue Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs) to the inadmissible family members, while the authorities grant permanent residence to the principal applicant and the other accompanying family members
- It is worth highlighting that the authorities usually grant the principal applicants an exemption for overcoming the inadmissibility of the family member
- This is in accordance with the provisions specified in A42
- Situations could arise where the officers do not believe that sufficient grounds exist for granting an exemption under Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) considerations, but certain compelling reasons exist for permitting the applicants to remain in Canada temporarily
Note:
- Before issuing a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), the officers would need to ensure that:
- The authorities have refused the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) application and,
- They have provided a reasonable rationale for issuing the Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
