F A C T   S H E E T   2 3
_______________

GUIDELINES TO NEW IRPA
TRANSITIONAL REGULATIONS FOR
ECONOMIC CLASS APPLICANTS
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

 
SNAPSHOT

The Government of Canada aims to treat all applicants for permanent residence in Canada fairly. Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations reflect the principles of fairness, openness and flexibility that are at the core of Canada's immigration program.

For more information on the selection process for skilled workers, please see the CIC fact sheets Skilled Workers and Business Immigrants.

 
NEW TRANSITIONAL REGULATIONS FOR SKILLED WORKER AND BUSINESS IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS

When the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) came into effect on June 28, 2002, the regulations included measures to ease the transition from the regulations in effect under the Immigration Act of 1976 to those under IRPA. Effective December 1, 2003, these transitional measures have been amended to respond to the needs of many who applied to come to Canada under the regulations of the former Immigration Act.

These changes allow applicants in the federal economic classes, who applied before January 1, 2002, to be assessed under the selection criteria of the former regulations. This includes skilled workers (formerly known as independents and assisted relatives), investors, entrepreneurs or self-employed persons.

Under a new dual assessment, applicants can be assessed against the selection criteria of the former Immigration Act or those of IRPA, whichever are more favourable. In cases where the results are not positive, the application will automatically be assessed under the selection criteria of the other regulations.

The following groups who had applied prior to January 1, 2002, will automatically receive a dual assessment:

• Applications still pending or in progress on December 1, 2003, when the new regulations came into force.
• Applications referred back by the Federal Court of Canada or the Supreme Court of Canada following a decision under the former act.

The following groups who had applied prior to January 1, 2002, must reapply before January 1, 2005, to receive the benefit of a dual assessment:

• Applications withdrawn between January 1, 2002, and November 30, 2003.
• Applications refused after March 31, 2003, and before June 20, 2003, under the transitional requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that were in effect during this period.

To apply under the new transitional rules, applicants must

• submit a new IRPA IMM8, along with Schedule 1, Schedule 7, and the form "Additional Family Information" (IMM 5406). It is also recommended that applicants in the skilled worker category submit a Schedule 3, and applicants in the business categories submit a Schedule 6;
• pay any applicable fees if a refund was provided or if a new dependent is added; and
• make reference to their previous file number.

You must submit this application to the Canadian visa office of your original application or at the office responsible for:

• the country in which you are residing, provided you have been lawfully admitted to that country for at least one year; or
• your country of nationality.

There will be no charge for a dual assessment except in cases where a refund of the application fee has been provided, or where there are new dependants to add to an application.

Applicants are not required to submit additional information for assessment under the former act, but will typically have to submit additional information (such as proof of language ability) to benefit from an assessment under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. Applicants who have previously received a request for further documents and who have not yet provided them should do so as soon as possible.

The new regulations do not apply to applicants who are provincial nominees, or to applicants for permanent residence in the Province of Quebec under provisions of the Canada-Quebec Accord. The Accord gives Quebec sole responsibility for the selection of immigrants destined to the province.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada is committed to processing applications as quickly as possible while respecting the immigration levels plan presented to Parliament.

© Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, 2003
Cat. No.: Ci51-111/2003-23
ISBN 0-662-67850-8
C&I-490-K-12-03