Processing of Applications for Displaced Tibetans in the State of Arunachal Pradesh in India

Operational Bulletin 418 (Modified) – August 26, 2013

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) updates the previous OB 418. Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) first published OB 418 on May 16, 2012 and last updated it on June 21, 2013. This OB instructs CIC staff on the procedure for processing applications for displaced Tibetans in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India.

These procedures are in accordance with the Temporary Public Policy established on March 17, 2011. Moreover, the procedures mentioned in this OB apply to visa staff at the:

• Local CIC office in Toronto (CIC St. Clair) and,
• Canadian High Commission (New Delhi)

Officers would process applications under this OB in a similar manner to the applications received in the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program. This OB also:

• Provides updates to the Interim Federal Health section as this group has been granted Public Health or Public Safety Health Care Coverage (PHPSC) and,
• Updates information on the manner in which officers must record the Right of Permanent Residence Fees (RPRF) in GCMS

Background

On March 17, 2011, the Minister of CIC established the Temporary Public Policy Concerning Tibetans Living in the State of Arunachal Pradesh in India. This was in accordance with Section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The Department engaged the Project Tibet Society (PTS) as its implementation partner for this public policy.

Under this public policy, CIC officers can accept:

• Up to 1,000 displaced Tibetans including:
• Principal applicants and,
• Their eligible family members
• This total would account for principal applicants and their eligible family members – regardless of whether they accompany the principal applicant to Canada or not 

The Role Played by the Project Tibet Society (PTS)

In the spring of 2011, CIC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the PTS. The objective was to work together to identify and refer Tibetans in the state of Arunachal Pradesh to immigrate to Canada. The responsibilities of the PTS included:

• Identifying applicants for processing
• Liaising with applicants and a coordinating organisation situated in India
• Acting as an intermediary between CIC and private sponsors
• Liaising with sponsors in Canada for facilitating the preparation of the sponsorship undertakings
• Matching applicants to specific sponsors in Canada
• Receiving the completed sponsorship applications from sponsors in Canada and,
• Forwarding completed applications to the local CIC office i.e. CIC St. Clair

Express Instructions for CIC St. Clair

Under the public policy, CIC St. Clair would receive all sponsorship applications for sponsoring groups wanting to sponsor Tibetans. This would be regardless of the location of these sponsoring groups in Canada. Other local CIC offices in Canada that receive a sponsorship for this public policy would need to forward it to CIC St. Clair.

CIC St. Clair would only receive sponsorship applications from the PTS. It would not receive these applications directly from the sponsoring groups. These groups could comprise:

• Groups of Five or,
• Settlement Groups 

Note:

• Groups of Five (G5) are any group that has five or more members comprising:
• Canadian citizens or,
• Permanent residents of,
• Age eighteen years and above and who,
• Live in the community where the Tibetan applicants are expected to settle
• Members of the Group of Five must meet certain requirements. They must:
• Be Canadian citizens OR permanent residents 18 years of age or above
• Provide evidence of their financial capacity to fulfill the sponsorship undertaking for the duration of the sponsorship period i.e. 12 months
• Provide evidence of settlement capacity to provide emotional and/or social support to:
• A Tibetan applicant and,
• The applicant’s family
• Reside in the community where the Tibetans are expected to live and,
• Not have defaulted on any previous undertaking i.e.
• Family class or
• Private sponsorship of refugees
• Settlement organisations do not need incorporation under federal or provincial law. They could comprise:
• An organisation
• An association or,
• A corporation
• Settlement organisations must meet certain requirements. These include:
• Providing immediate settlement support to the sponsored Tibetan (including immediate family members) for a minimum duration of 4 – 6 weeks upon arrival in Canada
• Having the commensurate financial capacity to fulfill the sponsorship undertaking for the duration of the sponsorship period i.e. 12 months
• Being based in the community where the Tibetans are expected to live
• If needed, settlement organisations might need to support the sponsored Tibetan and immediate family members for a longer duration (beyond the stipulated 4 – 6 week period)
• Financial capacity denotes income support equating to provincial social assistance rates, excluding any in-kind donations
• Settlement organisations are recommended for Tibetans who need lesser individual support as compared to those Tibetans sponsored by Groups of Five
• PTS has the authority to provide advice on such Tibetans. In case the application is unclear, CIC St. Clair would need to contact PTS
• The financial support period of 12 months is the same for both Groups of Five and Settlement Organisations. However, the settlement support period could be lesser for settlement organisations i.e. at least 4 – 6 weeks
• The Settlement Organisation could carry out settlement duties by formally partnering with:
• An individual (e.g. a family member of the sponsored Tibetan living in Canada) or,
• An organisation
• In case the Settlement Organisation opts to partner with an individual or an organisation, the partner is called a “co-sponsor” 

Sponsor Eligibility and Settlement Plans

CIC St. Clair would need to assess sponsor eligibility under this public policy. This is similar to the way they deal with PSR applications. Sponsorship groups would need to meet the specified eligibility requirements, to gain approval as sponsors. 

Sponsorship guides contain further instructions related to assessments of the groups’:

• Settlement plans and
• Financial capacity

These evaluations would help officers greatly. It would enable them to assess whether the sponsorship groups have the ability to provide the required settlement supports for the sponsored Tibetans.

Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH) are incorporated organisations. These organisations have signed a formal sponsorship agreement with the CIC. Under this agreement, the SAH can sponsor refugees under the PSR program. To sponsor Tibetans referred under this public policy, the SAH would need to submit the same Settlement Plan specifically designed for them.

The Forms that Sponsorship Groups Must Complete for Sponsoring Tibetans

All sponsors need to complete certain sponsorship forms for sponsoring Tibetan refugees. This includes all Groups of Five and Settlement Organisations. The forms include the:

• Undertaking / Application to Sponsor (IMM 5373PP)
• Settlement Plan and Financial Assessment:
• For Settlement Organisations – IMM 5683
• For Groups of Five – IMM 5373A
• For Sponsorship Agreement Holders only – IMM 5440
• Financial Profile – For Groups of Five only – IMM 5373B
• Use of a Representative – IMM 5476

They would also need to submit the following documents. These include:

• For each Group of Five member – Proof of Canadian citizenship or Permanent Residence Status OR
• For each party of the sponsorship (including a Settlement organisation representative and each co-sponsor, if applicable) – Proof of Canadian citizenship or Permanent Residence Status AND,
• Proof of income documents

CIC would not levy any sponsorship fee of $75 for processing these sponsorship applications. Moreover, CIC would not levy any processing fees for processing the corresponding applications for permanent residence for Tibetan applicants under this public policy. However, CIC would levy the right of permanent residence fee.

Undertaking for de facto Dependents

Sponsorship groups would need to complete a separate Undertaking or an Application to Sponsor form for sponsoring any de facto dependents. This would apply to each unit of these family members.

Sponsorship groups would need to list such individuals in the “Multiple Undertakings” section of this application i.e. Section D. Officers would review this section. It would enable them to ensure that the visa office processes all linked sponsorships simultaneously. 

The Responsibilities of CIC St. Clair

Other responsibilities of CIC St. Clair include:

• Creating the sponsorship file upon approval of the sponsorship undertaking
• Adhering to the specific FOSS coding instructions including:
• Entering “P01” in the QUALIFIER field
• Entering “TB SPRSHP” in the TYPE OF FILE field
• Entering “GF” for Groups of Five sponsorships in the TYPE field OR,
• Entering “GR” for Settlement Organisation sponsorships in the TYPE field
• Approving or refusing the sponsorship forms based on specific sponsorship eligibility criteria
• Requesting the sponsor to provide any missing information or additional documents
• Forwarding the approved sponsorship undertaking to the CHC by scan for:
• Processing and,
• Matching the undertaking with the appropriate application for permanent residence
• Communicating the decision on the application to the sponsor within 30 days and copying the PTS on all decisions
• Local offices would be responsible for informing the sponsor in case the processing timeframe exceeds the service standard. This would include providing the sponsor with the:
• Confirmation of receipt of application and,
• Estimated time of completion of processing
• This would only be communicated with the sponsor upon request
• Responding to sponsor enquiries appropriately
• Providing the sponsor with updates on the status of an application upon request
• Monitoring notice of arrival transmissions (NATs) for the arrivals of Tibetans and notifying the sponsor of the arrival information promptly
• Mediating between the client and the sponsor (in conjunction with the PTS) in case of a sponsorship breakdown
• Monitoring the sponsors and sponsored Tibetans to determine whether the sponsor is fulfilling its responsibilities e.g. financial and settlement assistance

Interim Federal Health

A Ministerial decision enables the Tibetans under this public policy to gain access to the Public Health or Public Safety Health Care Coverage (PHPSC). They remain eligible for this coverage until they become eligible for:

• Provincial health coverage or,
• Territorial health coverage

Thereafter, coverage would continue for the duration of the private sponsorship. This would usually be up to one year after landing in Canada. The coverage would include medications and vaccines needed to:

• Prevent or treat a disease that poses a risk to public health or,
• Treat a condition of public safety concern

The issuing local CIC would need to enter the appropriate IFHP FOSS codes while issuing IFHP certificates. They would need to enter these codes on the Interim Federal Health Certificate of Eligibility screen (HC). Thus, they would enter:

• FOSS code “38” in the “Eligibility Group” field (Minister’s Discretion 5 – print)
• The date 12 months after the landing date, less one day in the “Valid Until” field

For example, if a person lands on August 24, 2013, the “Valid Until” date would be August 23, 2014.

Express Instructions for the CHC

The CHC would receive the sponsorship application from CIC St. Clair. It would then proceed to match the sponsorship application with the corresponding application for permanent residence. The application for permanent residence would typically include the:

• Consent form and terms of use for displaced Tibetans in Arunachal Pradesh
• This is for the services of the Project Tibet Society (PTS)
• It is required if the PTS submits the applications for permanent residence along with the sponsorship applications
• Generic Application Form for Canada – IMM 0008
• Additional Dependents / Declaration – IMM 0008 DEP
• Schedule A – Background / Declaration – IMM 5669
• Schedule 10 – Sponsorship under a Public Policy – IMM 0008 – Schedule 10
• Use of a Representative – IMM 5476

CIC would not levy any processing fees for processing the corresponding applications for permanent residence for Tibetan applicants under this public policy. However, CIC would levy the right of permanent residence fee.

GCMS Coding

• The Generic Application Form for Canada (IMM 008): This does not provide an appropriate category for this public policy group. Therefore, applicants would need to select:
• “Refugee” for Question 1 as the program and,
• “Outside Canada – Convention Refugee” for Question 2 as the category under which they apply
• “Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, India” for Question 4 as the immigration office for the processing of these applications
• “Stateless” for Question 9 unless the Tibetan is a citizen of another country
• “Other” for Question 10 as the Tibetan’s status in the current country of residence; applicants would need to place the words “Displaced Tibetan” in the box to the right
• All these answers would also apply to any dependents
• Special Program Field: The visa office would enter the special program code “P01” (Tibetan Public Policy) in the special program field in the GCMS
• Rights of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF): Under this public policy, CIC does not grant Tibetans any exemption from paying the RPRF.
• Therefore, the visa office would always code the RPRF fee as “LXR” (RPRF Exempt) when the application Category is equal to “REF-OVS”
• Applicants applying under this public policy would have a Category equal to “REF-OVS”
• Visa officers would need to override this by:
• Setting the system generated RPRF fee to “Entered in Error”
• Creating a new RPRF fee line manually and,
• Allocating a receipt or entering a value into the Code field to indicate that the applicant has paid the fee
• This process remains the same whether:
• The applicant pays the RPRF directly or,
• An immigration loan covers paying for the RPR 

Note:

• In case applicants enter the incorrect program or category in IMM 008, the visa office would need to manually enter the above program and category into the GCMS 

Who can be Sponsored Under this Public Policy?

Sponsoring groups need to sponsor the principal Tibetan applicant along with all eligible family members. This includes all the accompanying and non-accompanying family members specified at the time of submission of the original undertaking or application. Eligible family members include:

• Spouse or common-law partner of the principal applicant and/or,
• Any dependent children as long as:
• They are biological or adopted children of:
• The principal applicant or,
• The spouse or common-law partner of the principal applicant       
• They are under 22 years of age and do not have a spouse or common-law partner or,
• They depend substantially on the parents for financial support and:
• Have been continuously enrolled (and in attendance) as full-time students in an accredited post –secondary institution or,
• Are pursuing full-time skills training since before the age of 22 (or since their marriage or entry into a common-law relationship – if this happened prior to their attaining the age of 22 years)
• Are unable to provide for themselves because of a medical condition
• At the time of submission of the application, any children included in the application must meet the definition of “dependent children”. Therefore, the CIC would consider any individual who has turned 22 since the time of submission of the original application and who meets all other requirements, as being a dependent child still.
• Any dependent children of dependent children: this would include:
• Children of dependent children of the principal Tibetan applicant or,
• Children of the spouse or common-law partner of the principal Tibetan applicant

De Facto Dependents

This public policy allows concurrent processing. Thus, it tries to keep complete households together. Any de facto dependents that are a part of the family unit would need to meet the eligibility criteria in their own right.

De facto dependents would need to submit a separate IMM 0008 application for permanent residence for each de facto dependent. As in the case of other family members included in the application, CIC would count all de facto dependents as part of the 1,000-person cap.

Criteria for Determining Eligibility and Admissibility for Displaced Tibetans

Officers would need to check the applications of all displaced Tibetans living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India. They would need to ensure that the Tibetans applying for permanent residence in Canada are both, eligible and admissible.

Officers could consider permanent residence in Canada for displaced Tibetans living in the state of Arunachal Pradesh in India who:

• Demonstrate their identity as displaced Tibetans
• Have resided in Arunachal Pradesh prior to and continue to reside in Arunachal Pradesh since December 18, 2010
• Are matched with an approved sponsor in Canada courtesy the Project Tibet Society, the organisation that supports the implementation of this public policy
• Are not inadmissible on the grounds of:
• Security
• Criminality
• War crimes
• Crimes against humanity
• Organised crime
• Health or,
• Misrepresentation
• Demonstrate their ability to establish themselves successfully in Canada

Non-accompanying Family Members

This program carries a cap of 1,000 individuals. It includes the principal applicants and their eligible family members. This is regardless of whether the eligible family members accompany the principal applicant to Canada or not.

Family members who do not accompany the principal applicant during visa validity could apply under the program. However, they would need to ensure that:

• The CIC receives their application while the public policy is in-force i.e. 2011 – 2016 and,
• They would need to apply as a principal applicant and submit their own sponsorship

Benchmark Letters

While processing the applications, the visa office sends benchmark letters. It sends these letters at two specific intervals. Therefore, it sends:

• The Acknowledgment of Receipt (AOR) to the applicant when it receives the application
• It would send copies to the PTS and CIC St. Clair
• The approval or refusal letter to the applicant once the visa office makes the final selection decision
• It would send copies to the PTS and CIC St. Clair 

Note:

• Sponsored Tibetans would need to bear the cost of the medical exam at the time of the medical examination.
• Unlike the case with resettled refugees, in this situation, the sponsored Tibetans must not place the medical costs on the immigration loan 

Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) and Travel to Canada

The RPRF applies to all sponsored Tibetans under this public policy. Sponsored Tibetans need to pay $490 for adult applicants. There is no fee payable for dependent children. The applicants must pay this fee before the visa office issues the visa. The applicants can also place the fee and travel costs to Canada on their immigration loan, if required.

Notice of Arrival Transmission (NAT)

The visa office would send the NAT directly to CIC St. Clair. They would not send it to the Matching Centre. Additionally, they need to follow the same procedures for sending the NATs, as they currently use for PSR cases. This is in accordance with Section 21 of OP 5.

Communication with the PTS, NHQ and the Sponsors

The PTS would be the e-mail point of contact for CHC for all questions related to:

• The Sponsorship application and,
• The Application for Permanent Residence

The PTS would also copy the sponsors on the queries they receive. Certain queries might warrant the attention of the NHQ. Therefore, CHC could copy those selected queries to the OMC mailbox.

Managing the Inventory

The PTS, CHC, CIC St. Clair and the NHQ-OMC would share the responsibility for managing the inventory.

The visa office would:

• Count the number of applications received, cases selected and visas issued
• Report these numbers to the NHQ once each quarter
• Include any non-accompanying family members within this count (as these persons count in the 1,000 cap issued for this public policy)

The NHQ-OMC has the overall responsibility of monitoring the 1,000 cap. It can request for landing statistics from OMC-Stats once each quarter. This would enable it to keep a track of the number of Tibetans who have landed in Canada. 

Note:

• In case the displaced Tibetans have left the Arunachal Pradesh settlement in which they earlier resided, they could still be eligible for meeting the residency criteria
• In this case, they would need to prove that they:
• Maintained permanent resident status by returning to the settlement at least once a year
• Registered with the Welfare Bureau of the settlement on December 18, 2010
• Have been registered with the Welfare Bureau ever since that date

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)