Admissibility for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)

To be eligible under the temporary public policy, the applicant and their family members must be inadmissible only

• pursuant to
  • paragraph 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)
  • section A41 (for principal applicant and family members inside Canada)
  • section A42
• for overstaying their temporary resident status and working without authorization for the principal applicant or for overstaying their temporary resident status and working or studying without authorization for family members.

On this page

• Determining admissibility
• Applicants with active removal orders
• Applicants with active immigration warrants
• Ineligible family members
• Inadmissible family members

Determining admissibility

Once the processing office has determined that a principal applicant is eligible to apply under the public policy and is not inadmissible, the principal applicant and their family members, whether accompanying or not, must

• complete medical examinations if required and
• pass criminal and security checks by IRCC

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit police certificates up front with their application. Should the police certificate(s) not be included, the processing office must request a police certificate for the applicant’s current country of residence as well as one for any country where they have lived for 6 months or more in a row. Refer them to Police certificates for immigration and citizenship for more information.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the National Security Screening Division of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) perform security screening and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) conducts screening for criminal records on behalf of IRCC. The IRCC office handling the clearances will request security screening from partners using the Global Case Management System (GCMS). Security screening results are valid for 48 months. If the results expire, the office must submit a new request for screening to partners through GCMS.

Applicants with active removal orders

As outlined in the public policy, applicants with active removal orders may be issued a stay of removal while their application is being processed. When a delegated officer assesses that a foreign national meets the eligibility requirements of the public policy, except for admissibility determination, this will result in an approval in principle under the public policy.

Once a delegated officer decides to approve in principle, they must advise CBSA of their decision by sending an email to GTAR-RGT_GTEC_CIC_Decisions@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.

When an approval in principle is received, a removal order, where one exists, will be stayed pursuant to section 233 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). The stay of removal will be in effect until a final decision is made on the permanent residence application.

A final assessment of admissibility will be conducted prior to granting permanent residence. Those with known inadmissibilities other than those stated in the public policy should not receive approval in principle.

Refer to ENF 10 – Removals (PDF, 536 KB) for detailed information about removal orders.

Applicants with active immigration warrants

An individual who is the subject of an immigration warrant may apply under this public policy. Once an IRCC officer identifies such an individual as meeting the conditions of the public policy, they will advise the nearest CBSA inland enforcement office without delay. CBSA will review the case, determine what action will be taken and communicate their decision to IRCC.

Ineligible family members

If, after reviewing an application, an officer believes that the declared spouse or declared dependent children are not members of the family class as defined in the IRPR or that they do not meet one or more of the eligibility requirements of the public policy, they should

• apply procedural fairness
• outline their concerns to the applicant
• provide a deadline for the applicant to submit additional information about the ineligible spouse or dependent children

In addition, individuals (both the principal applicant and family members) who have made a refugee claim in Canada, and failed refugee claimants, are not eligible under this public policy.

If, by the deadline, the officer still believes that the spouse or dependent children are ineligible, the officer should remove the ineligible dependant(s) and continue to assess the admissibility of the remaining family members. The officer must send a letter explaining why the ineligible family member(s) can no longer be included in the application and cannot be issued travel documents.

If the ineligible family member is also being processed under the Temporary public policy to further facilitate access to permanent resident status for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), this family member should be disassociated from the application with the reason listed as “Ineligible family member.

Inadmissible family members

Family members of the principal applicant eligible for immigration to Canada under this public policy will be granted the same admissibility exemptions. Family members are defined as persons who meet the definition of a “family member” in subsection R1(3) as assessed by a delegated officer. Individuals who have made a refugee claim in Canada and failed refugee claimants are not eligible under this public policy.

After an application has been reviewed, if an officer believes that a family member of the principal applicant is inadmissible, the officer should

• apply procedural fairness
• outline their concerns to the applicant
• provide a deadline for the applicant to submit additional information about the possible inadmissibility

If no additional information is provided by the deadline, or the additional information does not change the inadmissibility assessment, the officer may refuse the application.