CIMM - Domestic Security and Sanctions - Mar 10, 2021

Key Messages

• All visitors (including temporary foreign workers and international students), permanent residents and refugees are carefully screened before coming into Canada. This screening ensures that these persons do not pose a threat to the safety, security, or health of Canadians.
• IRCC’s highly trained migration officers conduct screening of all permanent and temporary resident applications against departmental databases and risk indices before issuing immigration documents. IRCC works closely with our Public Safety partners to carry out the screening process.
• Migration officers’ expertise in security screening help identify those who might pose a threat to Canadians and to mitigate the potential security risks associated with those seeking to enter Canada. Should information be uncovered indicating that the applicant poses a threat to Canadians, the applicant will be deemed inadmissible by IRCC and visa or immigration document will not be issued.
• All permanent resident applicants need to provide a police certificate or criminal record check as part of the screening process. In certain cases, temporary resident applicants may also be asked to provide this documentation. This allows officers to refuse visas or deny entry to those who are inadmissible to Canada on grounds of criminality.
• Investigation of criminal offences conducted on Canadian soil by foreign nationals is a matter for law enforcement. However, if a foreign national is charged, arrested or convicted of serious offences in Canada, or is found to have engaged in acts of espionage against Canada or its interests, they may be found to be inadmissible to Canada. They may face legal punishment or jail time in Canada; have their visa canceled; or be issued a deportation order or removed from Canada.

Supplementary Messages

Security Screening

• Security screening is an important part of the overall assessment of a person’s admissibility to Canada. This assessment ensures that anyone who wants to come to Canada:
  • has not committed crimes that would bar their entry to Canada;
  • does not pose a risk to Canada’s security;
  • has not violated human or international rights;
  • has not violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

  Assessment is also completed to ensure that the applicant is in good health and does not pose a public health risk (a medical examination may be required). These measures are not COVID related, but are part of regular admissibility screening measures.

• The Minister of Public Safety has responsibility over the provisions for inadmissibility on national security grounds, including espionage, and for immigration enforcement, including removing foreign nationals. Further questions on these matters should be referred to the Minister of Public Safety or to CBSA officials.
• All applicants are subject to universal and non-discriminatory considerations during the screening process.
• IRCC relies on key partners to provide their security screening analysis to inform the IRCC decision-maker.

Assessment of politically-motivated charges

• Canadian immigration officers are trained to consider applications on a case-by-case basis. Generally speaking, for crimes committed outside Canada, an immigration officer must determine whether that same act—if it occurred in Canada—would be considered a crime in Canada. For example, a person who was arrested or charged for peacefully demonstrating or being present at a protest would not be inadmissible as these actions are not considered crimes in Canada. Similarly, being part of a mass arrest would not automatically lead an immigration officer to approve or refuse an application to Canada.
• Our immigration officers are highly trained to examine all evidence presented as part of an immigration application, including admissibility considerations, before rendering a final decision in line with requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. To support our officers both in Canada and overseas, program guidance is regularly distributed across our offices on issues such as policy changes, risk considerations, and to provide information on the local or regional context in certain circumstances. Our officers also receive regular and ongoing training on these and other matters.
• When required, our immigration officers work closely with our Public Safety partners on matters of admissibility, including with our CBSA Liaison Officers at missions overseas.

If pressed on Hong Kong:

• Immigration officers are trained to examine the circumstances of each case involving a person who has been arrested or charged with an offence and base their inadmissibility decision on evidence, such as police reports, media reports, court records or statutory declarations.
• They are also trained to examine the context surrounding a case. Specifically, where there are some similarities between foreign law and Canadian law, a person would only be inadmissible if the underlying action is considered an offence in Canada. [Redacted] Acts that are considered to be subversion in Hong Kong but do not equate to the level of being an offence if committed in Canada would not render an individual inadmissible pursuant to section 36 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Criminal offences committed in Canada

• Alleged criminal offences committed on Canadian soil are a matter for law enforcement. Allegations of criminal activity, such as coercion or intimidation should be referred to the RCMP or local police forces, for investigation. 
• If a foreign national is charged, arrested or convicted of an indictable and/or multiple summary offences in Canada, or has been found to have engaged in acts of espionage that are against Canada or that are contrary to Canada’s national interests, their inadmissibility to Canada will be examined and: may face legal charges or jail time in Canada; be issued a removal order; have their visa cancelled and/or be removed from Canada.
• In the event a foreign national is convicted of an indictable offence (or two summary offences from two separate events) in Canada, an officer may prepare an inadmissibility report. A Minister’s delegate would review the report and may issue a removal order. The CBSA is the enforcement arm of Canada’s immigration programs and is responsible for immigration inland enforcement and removals. 
• The RCMP, or local police forces, are responsible for investigating allegations of criminal activity in Canada. 
• A visa, electronic travel authorization or other document, could be cancelled after a removal order has been issued.
• Although there are no designated authorities in Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)/Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) to cancel or revoke a visa, a visa may be cancelled under common law principles when a person is determined to be inadmissible. Regulatory authorities to cancel an eTA include situations where an inadmissibility report is prepared and when a removal order is issued (R12.06).

Process of revocation of permits/visas on inadmissibility grounds

• A foreign national loses temporary resident status when an IRCC officer or the Immigration and Refugee Board has determined they did not comply with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and issues a removal order.
• A foreign national loses temporary resident status when a removal order comes into force. If a removal order is enforceable (i.e. is not stayed by a judicial decision), the foreign national must leave Canada immediately and the order must be enforced as soon as possible.

Revocation of permits/visas on inadmissibility grounds for permanent residents

• A permanent resident loses permanent resident status when an IRCC officer or the Immigration and Refugee Board has determined they did not comply with the IRPA, the officer may prepare a report setting out the relevant facts, which report shall be transmitted to the Minister.
• If a report on inadmissibility on grounds of security is referred to the Immigration Division of the Refugee Board and the permanent resident or the foreign national who is the subject of the report is not detained, an officer shall also impose the prescribed conditions on the person.
• A permanent resident loses status when a removal order comes into force. If a removal order is enforceable (i.e. is not stayed by a judicial decision), the permanent resident must leave Canada immediately and the order must be enforced as soon as possible.

Sanctions

• The Minister of Foreign Affairs is responsible for applying sanctions under the Special Economic Measures Act, and the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) concerning gross violations of human rights or significant corruption.
• Individuals subject to sanctions under these Acts are rendered inadmissible to Canada through the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and denied entry.
• IRCC’s role in this area is very limited as IRCC only has authority to target visa processing pauses of implement visa sanctions in relation to the failure of individuals to cooperate on removals.

Background

Sanctions

• Sanctions imposed on senior officials of a regime that committed gross human rights violations under the Special Economic Measures Act or the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act (Sergei Magnitsky Law) would render those individuals inadmissible to Canada under section 35 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
• Sanctions under the Justice for Victims of Corrupt Foreign Officials Act have been issued to individuals from countries including Russia, Venezuela, Myanmar, Saudi Arabia and South Sudan.

Criminal inadmissibility in Canada

• Foreign nationals who allegedly commit offences in Canada are afforded due process under Canadian law.
• The RCMP, or local police forces, are responsible for investigating allegations of criminal activity in Canada.
• The CBSA is responsible for immigration enforcement, including the consequences of having been convicted of an offence in Canada.
• The process is as follows:
  • After a foreign national is convicted of a relevant offence in Canada, an immigration officer may prepare an inadmissibility report.
  • These relevant offences are:
    • acts which are punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of at least 10 years
    • acts where the foreign national is sentenced to a term of imprisonment for more than six months
    • an indictable offence, and
    • two summary offences arising out of separate events
  • A Minister’s Delegate reviews the inadmissibility report and if satisfied, may issue a removal order.
  • If a removal order has been issued, the visa, eTA or other immigration document may be cancelled. Procedural fairness requirements must be followed before a document can be cancelled.
  • The foreign national can then be removed from Canada.

[If pressed for more detail on investigation and removal from Canada, questions concerning law enforcement should be directed to the Minister of Public Safety or CBSA officials.]