Hello, I went through that as well on Monday but when I asked the CBSA she said it was my 7-year-old son that has an issue, his refuge claim was refused in the past because he is a US citizen but now he is a Candian citizen I need to contact immigration to let them know he is a citizen now.
I am a Canadian citizen now but I was stopped by immigration at the airport because I previously had a refugee status
- Thread starter champion92_pls
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I contacted my local MP and here is their response:
"When we called IRCC , the response we always get: “ It is not up for the constituent to request for the removal of the flagged. It is there for reasons.”
I now no longer believe A Canadian is a Canadian ! apparently there are different classes of a Canadians citizens and I am a 3rd class Canadian-Refugee.
"When we called IRCC , the response we always get: “ It is not up for the constituent to request for the removal of the flagged. It is there for reasons.”
I now no longer believe A Canadian is a Canadian ! apparently there are different classes of a Canadians citizens and I am a 3rd class Canadian-Refugee.
That’s so sad to hear. I would recommend going to the press. It would also be helpful if you could find a group of people who have the same issue.
Sorry to hear that.
Order ATIP notes for yourself, I don't believe that answer makes sense. At least, fi they cannot explain what the nature of the flag is (we have been assuming that it is about having been a refugee).
And push your MP. Note that it is a waste of government resources to 'check' citizens for things that have already been resolved. Ask them to write to the minister.
Important note: it is a waste of resources for an agency under the minister of public safety. It is a safety risk for officers to not being doing their jobs checking actual security issues, and instead chasing things that are no longer relevant.
It is sad and embarrassing that I am being treated with respect as a visitor in other countries and as a "Canadian citizen" be humiliated and asked to step aside when I return to Canada!
The government does not consider that asking you to secondary inspection is a violation of your rights, nor a 'humiliation.' No sense whining on a board.
What citizenship absolutely does confer on you: go to your MP, complain, write to your minister, write to the PM if you like, write to Peter Ponzalievre if you like, go to the press - complain and vote. But don't bother doing it on a board.
And don't bother with the humiliation line, either (in my view): go with 'good government', waste of resources and money, diversion of security personnel from what they should be doing for someone who's already become a citizen.
It's not that you're being examined by CBSA, but that you're being examined for an obviously pointless and outdated reason that is no longer relevant. And the only reason that is being done is because IRCC and/or CBSA don't update their files consistently when finalizing citizenship.
That's your basis for complaint.
There are scores of anecdotal reports in this forum of similar experience. While it appears that former refugees are more often the subject of background flags/alerts than other naturalized citizens, this is not limited to former refugees. The reasons for such alerts vary widely, depending on the individual and their particular background, their history, and this includes their particular immigration to Canada history. But it can also be related to more recent information, concerns, including recent travel.
There is no reason to be embarrassed about being referred to Secondary questioning upon arrival in Canada, well unless there are reasons why the particular individual should be embarrassed.
There is no intent to punish, chastise, criticize, insult, offend, or "humiliate" travelers who are subject to additional examination past the PIL (Primary Inspection Line).
It can be inconvenient in terms of how long it takes, but you have not indicated how burdensome or imposing the additional questioning was.
As I noted, when and why this happens is very individual to the person traveling, but most of the reporting suggests that even though the Secondary questioning can occur repeatedly, even after several trips as a citizen, the scope of it tends to lessen and for most it eventually ceases even without making a complaint. Of course for those who Canadian authorities have identified cause for security or criminality concerns, obviously the scrutiny will continue. For obvious reasons. As in that's their job.
Some more or less legacy information likely lingers in some new citizen's GCMS records. Individuals can push, such as through their MP, to have related concerns noted resolved, or simply help facilitate officers to more quickly clear them during the border examination.
Some discrimination undoubtedly occurs. People eh. But generally CBSA officers have enough to do without going out of their way unnecessarily to question returning Canadian citizens without cause. Of course the individual citizen may very well know there is not any cause for concern about them, we all know ourselves. What law enforcement officers MUST act on, in contrast, is the information available to them.
Generally the better approach is to answer questions and demonstrate there is no reason for concern. Questions are not prosecution let alone persecution.
Beyond that, frankly, I'm not buying the portrayal of Secondary examinations at a Canadian Port-of-Entry as comparable to conditions which warrant flight from other countries to seek protection.
Thank you @dpenabill I appreciate your comment. It triggered something back home when I was treated the same way, not only while travelling and coming back home, it was during commuting and dealing with checkpoints. I don't want to sidetrack this.
Later update from MP was to write them a letter and they will forward it to IRCC without expectation. I'll do that and see.
Good luck. Again, slightly different situation, but we emphasized the waste of govt time and resources to inspect at secondary for something that was clearly pointless (no longer relevant). We did also mention the inconvenience and effect on our kids of missing parent but as I mentioned - CBSA does not see secondary as humiliation etc, just a part of running customs/immigration. And when they cleared the flag, they went out of their way to emphasize it didn't mean we'd never see secondary again - that they can pull any traveller for secondary when they consider necessary. (Of course it hasn't happened since)
A couple of years ago, an advocacy group came up - NoFlyList. It started when a 6 yr old Canadian born Muslim boy was flagged as no-fly because of a name match. Air Canada could not sort out his issue. They formed a group and lobbied hard to get this rectified and were successful not just for him but for other families in a similar situation. You may want to search (esp on Twitter) and reach out if they could help with some pointers. @champion92_pls