New Canadian Immigration Rules Which Affect You, the Human Resource Professional

Posted on July 12, 2012 by VISANOW

by Marina Falkina, Senior Global Mobility Specialist

Over the past several months (since April 2012, to be exact), some important changes have been made with respect to who can conduct business with Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on immigration matters.

With the introduction of Bill C-35, An Act to Amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act which came into force on June 30^th, 2011 the Parliament of Canada made it an offence for anyone other than an Authorized Representative to offer immigration services for a fee or other consideration, at any stage of an application or proceeding. Authorized Representatives include: members in good standing of ICCRC (known as Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants – RCICs), lawyers in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society and notaries who are members in good standing of the Chambre des notaires du Québec.

For complete details about Bill C-35, please visit CIC’s website at: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/backgrounders/2011/2011-06-28a.asp

It is important to understand what, in accordance with Bill C-35, the HR professionals may and may not do when it comes to Canadian immigration and visa applications without being an Authorized Representative.

HR Professionals and their staff may:

-          Conduct job interviews;

-          Make offers of employment;

-          Review job applications;

-          Provide translation services;

-          Provide courier services;

-          Provide information on medical services;

-          Make travel arrangements.

 

HR Professionals may not:

-          Explain/provide immigration advice;

-          Complete immigration forms;

-          Communicate with CIC/Canada Border Services Agency on a client’s behalf;

-          Represent clients in an immigration application or proceeding.

 

NOTE: HR professionals may still complete Labor Market Opinion (LMO) applications with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.

For more information regarding travel to Canada, obtaining the Labor Market Opinion (LMO) on behalf of a Canadian (or foreign) company, seeking to employ the services of foreign workers, please feel free to contact us at 1-855-VISANOW.

This entry was posted in Immigration Blog and tagged Bill C-35, Border Services Agency, Canadian immigration, CIC, Labor Market Opinion, LMO. Bookmark the permalink.