Your gateway to Canada

By Attorney Henry Moyal

PERMANENT RESIDENCE CAN BE OBTAINED WITH $125,000 INVESTMENT

Q. I have read a few of your articles in the past and several times you have indicated that education and work experience are keys to immigration to Canada. What if a person is not highly educated?I am an undergraduate and have several businesses in the USA and in the Philippines. I own a few franchises and my net worth is in the millions. I am not highly skilled but I believe my business experience should count for something. I am nearly 55 and even if I immigrate to Canada I do not think anyone would hire me at my age.My intention is to open a business in Canada. Can I immigrate based on my business portfolio?

A. Absolutely, in addition to the skilled worker category there is a separate category for business people. The information provided leads me to the opinion that you actually have a very strong case as a business applicant.

If you wish to immigrate to Canada as an investor you need to invest $125,000 and demonstrate a high net worth. There are no conditions imposed on investor immigrants and you do not need to open a business if you do not want to.

Q. I am very concerned about my sister’s case. My sister came to Canada as a visitor over 4 years ago. After immigration refused to extend her visitor status she applied for refugee status but she never appeared for the hearing. That was 2 years ago and she was working in a bakery until last week when she was caught by the immigration police. She is now in a downtown jail. How can we get her out?

A. You have the right to be concerned about your sister. In fact, you should be very very concerned. Your question raises many serious issues in the law which can be very complex. I will certainly try to cover the main areas.

Firstly, if a person does not appear for their refugee hearing the case is deemed abandoned. Once a case is abandoned the conditional departure order against your sister automatically became a deportation order. That means if she did not leave the country there would have been a warrant for her arrest.

I personally have concerns as to who was providing her with such advice. Was it a lawyer? or a consultant ? Philippines is not known as a refugee producing country and making false refugee claims may only jeopardize one’s status in the long run.

Secondly, once the immigration department was aware of her whereabouts they immediately noticed that there was a warrant for her arrest 2 years ago. Accordingly, they put her in detention (not really a jail). If a person is in detention they must be brought forward before an adjudicator to determine if she should be released. These are called detention review hearings. You should find out when the next detention review hearing is and be prepared to offer a bond for her release.

Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed Immigration Lawyer in Toronto, Ontario. The above article is general advice only and not intended to act as a legal document. Send questions in confidence to Balita or to Attorney Moyal by fax, mail or email canada@moyal.com