I wrote this to Legalfalcon, one of the experts in this forum, and wanted to share it with you guys.
Hi Legalfalcon,
I hope this message finds you well.
I have a couple of questions regarding my security screening. I would appreciate if you could give me your feedback.
First a brief summary of my case.
I am a PNP inland, AOR 12 October 2016, Medicals, Criminality and Eligibility already passed, CSIS security screening started on 24 January 2017, finished and advice sent on 24 April 2017 according the CSIS letter I received after faxed them for an update about my case.
My provincial government (NL) informed me that there is another security screening conducted by CBSA. I don't know whether CBSA started their screening on 24 January (on the same day together with CSIS) or on 24 April (after CSIS advice sent to IRCC and CBSA).
Now my questions:
1) What is the role of CBSA in the security screening process? In your analysis you explain the role of CSIS in security screening process but there is no info regarding the role of CBSA in it. However, there is information about the involvement of CBSA in the security screening process. Also my provincial government told me that the reason of delays in security screening process is CBSA.
2) If CBSA is involved in security screening process, do you think they start their screening at the same time with CSIS, or do they start after CSIS' advice (answer).
3) How long do you think it will take till I get PPR? Soon I will have completed my 11th month and will be in my 12th month after AOR.
I truly appreciate if you could be able to find some time and answer my questions as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Matt-NL said:
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Hi Legalfalcon,
I hope this message finds you well.
I have a couple of questions regarding my security screening. I would appreciate if you could give me your feedback.
First a brief summary of my case.
I am a PNP inland, AOR 12 October 2016, Medicals, Criminality and Eligibility already passed, CSIS security screening started on 24 January 2017, finished and advice sent on 24 April 2017 according the CSIS letter I received after faxed them for an update about my case.
My provincial government (NL) informed me that there is another security screening conducted by CBSA. I don't know whether CBSA started their screening on 24 January (on the same day together with CSIS) or on 24 April (after CSIS advice sent to IRCC and CBSA).
Now my questions:
1) What is the role of CBSA in the security screening process? In your analysis you explain the role of CSIS in security screening process but there is no info regarding the role of CBSA in it. However, there is information about the involvement of CBSA in the security screening process. Also my provincial government told me that the reason of delays in security screening process is CBSA.
Off the bat the difference lies in who has the legislative mandate to conduct a background check (the BGC and the security screening, since they have not been defined neither in the IRPA or any other law, they are often used as synonyms). This means that CSIS has a legal obligation to conduct security assessments for immigration applicants. Sections 14 and 15 of the CSIS Act authorizes CSIS to provide security assessments for the review of immigration applications to the IRCC.
Advice to Ministers
14 The Service may
(a) advise any minister of the Crown on matters relating to the security of Canada, or
(b) provide any minister of the Crown with information relating to security matters or criminal activities,
that is relevant to the exercise of any power or the performance of any duty or function by that Minister under the Citizenship Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Investigations
15 (1) The Service may conduct such investigations as are required for the purpose of providing security assessments pursuant to section 13 or advice pursuant to section 14.
Marginal note:No territorial limit
(2) For greater certainty, the Service may conduct the investigations referred to in subsection (1) within or outside Canada.
However, no such express legislative mandate is seen in the CBSA Act, except that CBSA as an agency is authorized to endorse the mandate of many acts, including IRPA. So CBSA is responsible to secure the borders, grant entry of aliens and citizens into Canada at the port of entry, regulate customs, fight narcotics etc.
The CBSA is responsible for ensuring that there are no security concerns related to the individual seeking entry to Canada (e.g., counter-terrorism, counter-espionage, war crimes, crimes against humanity and organized crime) and, based on a thorough screening exercise (including the review of information and intelligence from a wide variety of internal and external sources), makes a recommendation to IRCC on the admissibility of the individual. This program is also responsible for determining the admissibility of senior diplomats being posted to Ottawa to ensure that they meet the admissibility requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
Most of the above, is done at the post of entry when a person presents itself for entering into Canada and CBSA will conduct interviews and ensure that the person is not a threat. However, the scenario changes for an PR application, where the person has filed an application to become a Permanent Resident, but not physically presented to enter Canada. While CSIS will conduct examinations on all files as mandated, CBSA will look into only specific files which are referred to them by IRCC. (Please remember that CBSA and CSIS inly give recommendations and IRCC is the final authority to act on the advice).
CBSA on certain issues has a final say, one of them is inadmissibility based on criminality and fraud detection. An applicant who has been convicted of a crime in a foreign country, for which the sentence is more than 10 years as per the criminal code in Canada is inadmissible. Since different countries have different criminal laws and crimes, CBSA is the final authority on deciding if that conviction meets the Criminal code definition. Similarly, CBSA is also an expert agency which deals in fraud detection, as they see many documents each day and are experts at figuring out fake ones. They also work in close proximity with RCMP and 9 other federal agencies.
In the lack of a clear legislative mandate, and any specific protocols, except an agreement between IRCC and CBSA is the reason why I have not dealt with it. I am trying to get a copy of the agreement, which will help me understand this specific issue, but in the absence of it, I would not write anything based on speculation and guess work.
Further, most people who are stuck in SS with CBSA have a pattern, as
majority of them are from specific countries. You can conduct a poll on the forum as see some counties have the most number of applicants get stuck in SS. I would refrain from naming any specific countries, as I do not have exact names and to be politically correct.
2) If CBSA is involved in security screening process, do you think they start their screening at the same time with CSIS, or do they start after CSIS' advice (answer).
See above. Only after the assessment from CSIS, does the files go to CBSA. This can also be corroborated from the personal records applicants have obtained from CSIS and CBSA. Now it could be a pattern that CSIS recommends some files going to CBSA too, and they are automatically refereed to CBSA after a flag from CSIS. Since neither of this information is disclosed, or ever will, we can only make speculation.
3) How long do you think it will take till I get PPR? Soon I will have completed my 11th month and will be in my 12th month after AOR.
I would refrain from giving you any wrong estimation. However, since you have crossed 11 months, I don't feel that it will take longer than another 1-2 months. I have worked with some applicants who were put into SS just because they had a small issue such as their pervious employer being investigated for white collar crime in a foreign country, for an offence which happened after the applicant had resigned from the company. It took him 1.5 years to get the PPR. For others, the CBSA finished its work in 3 months and they got the PPR within 1 year. So its all over the place and all I can say is that it is a matter of time.
There is a lot of wrong advise and incorrect information floating on the forum where people claim to be experts at the law and other stuff. I don't want to add to that chatter. All my posts are well research and I get an edge with my legal training in three countries, being a lawyer for almost a decade and having worked closely with governments in two different countries and dealing with intelligence, I have written this. Wherever I find that I am incorrect, I will be the first one to come forward and acknowledge it.
I truly appreciate if you could be able to find some time and answer my questions as soon as possible.
Thanks in advance.
Best regards,
Matt