Canadian Immigration and Refugee Law

Canadian citizenship Canadian nationality laws

Canadian nationality law
Canadian Citizenship Act 1946
History of Canadian nationality law

Classes of citizens

Canadian citizen
Permanent resident
Honorary citizenship
Refugee
Commonwealth citizen

Enabling law

The primary statute is the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) which was introduced in 2002 to replace the former Immigration Act of 1976. The many changes included broader discretion for immigrations officers when evaluating applications. The IRPA is accompanied by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

Other relevant legislation include the Citizenship Act, and certain immigration and refugee related provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada.

Admission classes

Canadian immigration policy allows several classes of people to enter. The Family Class allows permanent residents or citizens to sponsor a family member's entrance into the country. The Economic Class provides admission to applicants (and their immediate families) who are supposed to be likely to find employment and contribute to the Canadian economy. This is determined by the weighing of factors such as education, language skills, and work experience.

Claims and appeals

Claims for refugee status and for admissibility as well as appeals of the decisions of the immigration officers are direct to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. The Board is the largest tribunal in Canada and hears over 25,000 claims a year. Decision of the Board can be appealed to the Federal Court, which hears about 2,500 appeals on immigration and refugee matters a year.