Citizenship and Immigration Committee on Nov. 26th, 2013

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Chair, and thank you, witnesses, for being here. I have a number of questions.

When we started this study in the last session, we heard a witness complain that visa officers often do not make the distinction between someone applying for a visitor visa versus someone applying for a visitor visa while they have their permanent resident application pending.

Could anybody clarify this misconception?

[Angela Gawel]

We call that dual intent. For instance, an applicant may have a permanent resident application in process. While that is in process, an applicant may, for various reasons, wish to go to Canada, and they require a temporary resident visa to travel to Canada.

It's not uncommon for people to legitimately have two such applications in process at one time, for perfectly legitimate reasons, and we would assess the temporary resident visa application on its merit.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

What factors are the officers looking at when examining these applications? Presumably, if they're applying for permanent residence, they've already got their landed immigrant status, right?

[Angela Gawel]

If they're applying for permanent residence, they would not yet be a landed immigrant. They would still be a foreign national. That is why they would need a temporary resident visa if they were travelling to Canada prior to obtaining permanent residence.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

If somebody has a permanent resident application pending and is refused, what are the most common reasons for their refusal?

[Angela Gawel]

It may be that the officer is not satisfied that they have a legitimate reason for temporarily travelling to Canada. That could be the reason for the refusal. Again, dual intent is a recognized, legitimate reason to have two applications in process. Many such applications are approved.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Do applicants fill out the visa form with all the necessary information, or do you find that many people submit incomplete forms?

[Angela Gawel]

I don't have numbers for the rejection rate of incomplete applications. I can tell you, though, that the VACS and the online application wizard we have ensures that clients submit all the required documentation to support their application.

Those two initiatives have improved the likelihood—in fact, they ensure—that a client submits a complete application.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Okay.

I'd now like to look at issues regarding program integrity. What percentage of visa decisions are appealed, are overturned, by the Federal Court? Do we have any statistics on that?

[Angela Gawel]

I don't have a statistic. In fact there isn't an appeal mechanism. An applicant who's refused has two lines of recourse. They may, as we've talked about, reapply—pay a $75 fee for a single entry and reapply—or they can seek leave for judicial review through the Federal Court.

I don't have the rates of rejection.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

When we start looking at people who are coming here and looking for accountability, who is held accountable if someone obtains a visa to enter Canada and then commits a crime or a terrorist act?

[Angela Gawel]

I believe the individual who commits the act would be held accountable.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

What was the acceptance rate in 2006 as compared with 2012 for applications for each of the locations?

[Angela Gawel]

For Chandigarh and Manila?

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Yes.

[Angela Gawel]

I'm not sure I have those with me today, but we can present them to you. We can follow up.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

[Angela Gawel]

Just in answer to your previous question, I don't have a percentage, but with regard to judicial reviews of temporary resident visa decisions, I have the 2011 numbers: 41 of 63 applications for leave and judicial review were either denied or discontinued without settlement.

So it's a fairly high percentage.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you very much.

This is a similar sort of question that you may or may not have the answer to. Who ends up paying if someone obtains a visitor visa, enters Canada, makes an unfounded asylum claim, and claims welfare?

[Angela Gawel]

The payment of social assistance is through the public purse. That's one of the reasons we of course strive to ensure that we admit people who have legitimate reasons for travelling to Canada and who are seeking to enter Canada for legitimate purposes.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

In 2012 Canada issued a record number of visas for Filipino and Indian nationals. In fact, I read that the Philippines was the second-largest source country for immigrants to Canada in 2012. India was the third-largest source for immigration to Canada in 2012. I think we issued a record number of nearly 130,000 visitor visas to Indian applicants in 2012, an increase of about 58% compared with 2004.

How does an approximate 85% approval rate compare with other countries?

[Angela Gawel]

Approval rates vary from country to country. There are, as we've talked about, a number of factors that visa officers will be looking at.

I think it's fair to say, though, that we assess cases individually. Even though a country may statistically have an 85% approval rate, not every applicant, of course, will be approved. Those are individual assessments.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Is your approval rate in Europe, for example, much better than it is in the Asian countries?

[Angela Gawel]

Most European countries do not require visitor visas for Canada.

[Joe Daniel, Conservative, Don Valley East, ON]

Okay. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.