Administrative problems between the federal and provincial immigration ministries have caused turmoil among future permanent residents who already live in Quebec. Last month, these people, sponsored by their spouse via the family reunification program, had the unpleasant surprise of learning that their file had initially been refused, because the Quebec selection certificate (CSQ) had never been approved. been received by Immigration Canada.
“Since your sponsor has not provided a CSQ as proof that he/she meets the provincial requirements, […] [il] is therefore ineligible [sic] to sponsor your permanent residence,” we can read in a letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), consulted by The duty.
Me Joanie Landry, of Athena, has clients who have received such a letter and she is not the only one. A month ago, many immigration lawyers began to discuss this sudden refusal which affected many couples involved in sponsorship.
The problem ? The Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) nevertheless confirmed that it had sent the CSQs in question on time (i.e. less than 30 days).
Me Benoît Bessette confirms that in one case, he did indeed receive the CSQ from his client. Although it is normally the responsibility of the MIFI to send this document to the federal government, the lawyer says he also sent it to IRCC — twice is better than once. So why was the file refused?
“I don’t understand exactly what happened, but it seems to be a transmission problem,” he said. Me Bessette deplores having had no response from the federal authorities. The web form he sent them to shed light on this case remained unanswered.
IRCC recognizes the problem
Verification carried out: IRCC says it has recently been made aware of an “administrative delay” in the transmission of Quebec selection certificates for more than 300 files. Careful not to attribute the fault to its level of government or that of Quebec, the federal ministry assures that the problem is now resolved. “The delayed CSQs have been added to the files, and the affected files continue to be processed,” told the Duty spokesperson Isabelle Dubois.
No request affected by this CSQ transmission problem would have been refused. “IRCC, in collaboration with MIFI, is also conducting a review of the CSQ transmission processes, to ensure that these delays do not recur in the future. »
According to our information, members of the Quebec Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI) followed the file closely and had meetings with officials and technicians at IRCC.
As for the MIFI, it was not able to answer the questions of the Duty within the time allowed.
Breaches in the system
“The simple individual who makes his request by himself, I put myself in his place. By receiving such a refusal letter, he may think that he is the one who has done his file poorly when he is not aware that the problem is widespread. These people must be experiencing very intense stress,” said M.e Ismaël Boudissa, who advised clients in connection with this problem.
According to him, anyone who applies for immigration has the right to expect better service from the public administration, especially since they pay thousands of dollars in fees. “After that, we are going to tell her that her request fell through due to an error that came not from her but from the public administration? »
Me Joanie Landry, for her part, is sorry that such errors could occur. “We are putting in place public interest policies to promote family reunification, but ultimately, while on paper it works, the services are not there,” she maintained. “We are facing breaches in the system. »
For mee Boudissa, the applicants are often caught in spite of themselves in problems which lie more at the level of the two levels of government. “We are used to seeing the ping-pong game between IRCC and the MIFI passing the buck. » However, no matter who is at fault, “it is our customers who suffer the consequences”, he added.