Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 15th, 2011

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

What I'm trying to figure out is if 10-year multiple-entry visas are...if we have any hope that those will actually help in the backlog, particularly with parents and grandparents. We've had five-year and 10-year visas for years now, so why haven't the presence and issuance of those visas assisted in helping avoid the backlog? My sense--and this is anecdotal--is that it's because they're not issued very often. My concern is that if we don't change the criteria that are applied in embassies such as yours so that we actually grant the multiple-entry visas, then they're not going to be of much assistance. The supposition I'll put to you, through my experience and I think that of many MPs, is that there are not very many five-year multiple-entry visas issued at all.

I'm just wondering if there is a problem there that we can deal with to make the criteria easier so that people can actually get them.

[Kent Francis]

Our policy in Manila right now is that every person who applies for a multiple-entry visa is given the maximum ability possible according to their passport. That's been our policy over at least the last year, and we've been doing that on a regular basis.

[Don Davies, NDP, Vancouver Kingsway, BC]

Also, just to turn to resources, do you each feel that you have sufficient resources in your offices to process the applications that you receive for permanent residency?

Chandigarh, New Delhi, or Manila--whoever wants to answer.

[Sidney Frank]

This is Sid Frank in New Delhi.

In terms of permanent-resident visas, we are assigned targets for the year that are based on the resources we have; our issuance of visas is not based on our intake for the year. So I would say that yes, we do have the resources to handle the visa targets that we're assigned by the international region of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Ms. Chomyn, do you have something to add?

[Sharon Chomyn]

Yes, I just want to build on the information my colleagues have already provided.

You are correct that there was an ability to issue a five-year multiple-entry visa, but until recently, what officers tended to do as a first response was to issue a single entry, if that was what was preferred by the client. If the client advised that they wished to have a visa for a two- or a three-year period, that's what was done, rather than issuing it for five years. There was a limitation on the validity of the visa that was dictated by the validity of the passport, and there may have been other issues that came into play as well.

So yes, it was possible to do it. Was it done frequently? Probably not. But we certainly have provided instructions to missions, as of July certainly, and that will go with the 10-year multiple-entry visa for parents and grandparents, that they are to assess applications with a facilitative point of mind and issue visas for the longest duration possible--again, limited by the validity of the passport.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

I'm sorry, Mr. Davies, time has expired.

Mr. Lamoureux, who represents the Liberal Party caucus, is next.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

You have to excuse me. I only have five minutes, so I'm going to try to go through three points, and then ask if somehow among the four of us we can limit it to five minutes.

First, in regard to the whole super visa and the multi-year visa, I think it's important that we recognize right up front that there is a fear factor that many people from the Philippines and from India have. It is that if they have a son or daughter in Canada, the chances of their not being given the required visa is pretty good, is pretty high. So the fear factor is why would they even bother to apply for a multiple-year visa, for the simple reason that there's a better chance they will get approved for the single one-year visa or six-month visa?

That's something on which I would challenge our embassies abroad. They have to try to better make those visas available. That's what we're starting to hear from my NDP critic. It's one thing to have them; it's another thing to allow people to have access to them. I want to make that particular point in regard to the five-year and the multiple visas, and they can provide comments on that, in particular the Philippines and Chandigarh.

Mr. Francis, you made reference to the students who are no longer dependants. Because of processing times, we have applicants in the parents and grandparents classes who have a dependant, but because they're in processing for six years, the number of students starts to drop. They are no longer dependants. Do you have any statistical numbers that would tell us how many students are actually being lost because of the lengthy processing times? If you don't have that answer, maybe you could provide it to the clerk at some point in time.

The other thing I wanted to mention is that we had both India and the Philippines make reference to the provincial nominee program. India said that it has quadrupled, I believe--quadrupled or tripled. There have been huge increases from both countries; that's the bottom line. I think we're going to see potentially longer processing times, or there's going to be an issue with backlogs coming to the provincial nominee program. I would ask if you could speak to that.

That's it for me. Please try to keep your comments short on all three points.

Maybe we can start with Manila.

[Kent Francis]

I'll address your question on the provincial nominees.

We've been able to keep our processing times to under a year, and we expect to be able to do the same over this coming year. As I've indicated, we found many ways we can manage the risks of that program. We know where we want to concentrate our efforts, and that's what we've been doing, concentrating on those key points that we find most relevant to making our decision. Through that, we are able to maintain our processing times at less than 12 months.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Does anyone have a comment?

Mr. Frank.

[Sidney Frank]

I could comment on the super visa for parents.

First of all, in my experience, the vast majority of parents who apply for visas to visit Canada do receive them. Parents visiting their children is not an area where we see a great deal of fraud. There's really an incentive for us to give a long multiple-entry visa to a parent. If we do that, they're going to apply for a visa fewer times. I can tell you we're definitely not looking for extra work; we're looking at reducing the work that we do. You may have had examples in the past where parents had difficulty obtaining multiple-entry visas. I think you're going to see those visas in our offices in the future.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Winnipeg North, MB]

Does that same principle apply there on the five-year multiple for Manila?

[Sidney Frank]

If you're asking Delhi, I'm saying we'll gladly give 10-year multiple-entry visas to parents.

There's another aspect of the super visa that I think is really important. Upon arrival in Canada, parents will be able to receive permission to stay in Canada for two years. That's a very big change. Previously, when you were in Canada for longer than six months, you had to apply for a visitor record through the case processing centre in Vegreville. This will make it much easier for parents. So a parent who has a 10-year multiple-entry visa can go to Canada, stay for 18 months, leave, spend six months back in the Punjab, then go back to Canada, and stay another 12 months. We think this will be a huge change for them.

[The Chair, Conservative, David Tilson]

Thank you, Mr. Frank.

Ms. Chomyn, I'm sorry, we're out of time.

We're back to the Conservatives. Mr. Opitz and Mr. Leung.

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I'll start with Ms. Zadravetz. In your area, what are some of the reasons you have found to deny temporary residence visas?

[Lillian Zadravetz]

We did mention the fraud already, or we're not satisfied that the person is a genuine visitor—either they're not well established or have insufficient funds. There are a number of different reasons to refuse students and workers. If it's just the visitors you're concerned about, it's usually whether they're well established in India or whether they have the funds to travel to Canada and come back.

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Would you know how many incomplete applications you receive, on average?

[Lillian Zadravetz]

For incomplete applications, I would say that we don't get incomplete applications, because the vast majority are submitted through the visitor applications centre, and they make sure they're all complete before they reach us.

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Good stuff.

Ms. Chomyn, Canada's current immigration system, which was created in 2002, as you know, legally requires the government to process every application, even if the applications outnumber the number of people we can welcome every year.

In your opinion, does this system make sense, that the government must process every single application it receives, regardless of how high that number is? Can we manage the intake of those applications?

[Sharon Chomyn]

The ministerial instructions that were initiated in 2008 as a result of a regulatory change now make it possible to prioritize applications within certain categories for processing. That, for example, is why we're able to process applications received in 2008 under the MI-1 instructions in priority over applications that may have been submitted earlier on that are in the backlog.

Does it make sense? That's what our instructions are, and that's what we do.

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

In your opinion, how would you improve the system?

[Sharon Chomyn]

How would I improve it?

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

Do you have recommendations?

[Sharon Chomyn]

I think we have made a great step forward in controlling the intake of applications. Backlogs develop when input exceeds output. Output is controlled by the Government of Canada and by Parliament and is a reflection of not only our capacity to process applications but also the capacity of Canada to receive and integrate new immigrants.

There is a control at that end. When you have no control over the intake, you're looking for a collision to happen in between. Unfortunately, that's where our backlogs have come from.

[Ted Opitz, Conservative, Etobicoke Centre, ON]

On the super visa, would you agree that the super visa provides a lot of flexibility and is in fact a satisfier for clients?