Hi there,
My permanent residency application was recently refused and I would like to know if there are grounds to appeal the decision.
I submitted my application on August 29th 2019. On January 4th I received a letter requesting more documents. The redacted letter was as follows:
I called CRA and their agent helped me log in to my account and the two of us could find no way of accessing my T4 because, as she said, I would not have received one.
I then rang IRCC and explained to an agent that I could not provide a T4 for 2015 for the above reasons. The agent, who I do understand is not the deciding officer, said that a tax return or invoices would suffice if I was not issued a T4.
On January 10th I received this refusal letter:
Essentially, this is the paragraph it all boils down to:
CRA told me I couldn't get a T4. Instead, I provided IRCC with my full 2015 Tax Return which stated my employer at the time. The period of time where I was a contractor with them for 2016 was covered by my 2016 T4. I also provided all my invoices for the period in question.
In short, I believe the statement that I was 'not remunerated in wages or commission between September 2015 and October 2016' and that I was unable to prove that is false.
Do I have grounds to appeal?
Any help on the matter would be much appreciated, thank you.
My permanent residency application was recently refused and I would like to know if there are grounds to appeal the decision.
I submitted my application on August 29th 2019. On January 4th I received a letter requesting more documents. The redacted letter was as follows:
- Submissions: The employment letter from *former employer* indicates that you worked as an independent service contractor from September 2015 to October 2016. Please provide proof of income for the period you were an independent contractor. In addition, if you were self employed please provide your company registration documents and proof of Canada Revenue tax filing. This must be received at this office by: 2020/01/11
- Submissions: Please provide paystubs for the period October 2016 to present. This must be received at this office by: 2020/01/11
- T4: Copies of the Canadian Revenue Agency T4 forms for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. This must be received at this office by: 2020/01/11
- Notice of Assessment: Copies of the Canadian Revenue Agency Notice of tax Assessments for the years 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. This must be received at this office by: 2020/01/11
- Income, proof: All bank statements with detailed transactions for the period September 2015 to present. This must be received at this office by: 2020/01/11
I called CRA and their agent helped me log in to my account and the two of us could find no way of accessing my T4 because, as she said, I would not have received one.
I then rang IRCC and explained to an agent that I could not provide a T4 for 2015 for the above reasons. The agent, who I do understand is not the deciding officer, said that a tax return or invoices would suffice if I was not issued a T4.
On January 10th I received this refusal letter:
I have now completed the assessment of your application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the Canadian Experience Class and have determined that you do not meet the requirements for immigration to Canada.
Subsection 11(1) of the Act states that a foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply to an officer for a visa or for any other document required by the Regulations. The visa or document may be issued if, following an examination, the officer is satisfied that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of this Act.
In addition, according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:
11.2 An officer may not issue a visa or other document in respect of an application for permanent residence to a foreign national who was issued an invitation under Division 0.1 to make such an application if – at the time the invitation was issued or at the time the officer received their application – the foreign national did not meet the criteria set out in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(e) or does not have the qualifications on the basis of which they were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h) and were consequently issued the invitation.
Section 11.2 of the Act requires that information provided in your Express Entry Profile concerning your eligibility to be invited to apply (10.3(1)(e)) as well as the qualifications on the basis of which you were ranked (10.3(1)(h)) be valid both at the time the invitation was issued and at the time the application for permanent residence is received.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited you to apply for permanent resident status based on the qualifications you claimed in your Express Entry profile. In your Express Entry profile you indicated:
Based on the documentation submitted with your application for permanent residence, I am not satisfied that you possess three years of qualifying Canadian work experience.
More specifically, you provided a letter of employment from *previous employer* Inc indicating that you worked as an independent contractor from September 2015 and became a permanent full time employee from October 2016. I requested you to provide me with proof of remuneration from *previous employer* for the period September 2015 to October 2016 and you responded that you are not able to provide T4's as you were an independent service contractor. In accordance with MI 15(7)(b) For the purposes of this section, a period of self-employment or unauthorized work is not to be included in calculating a period of work experience. MI 15(3)(d) indicates that ""For the purposes of this section, Canadian work experience is work experience that is remunerated by the payment of wages or a commission. As you were not remunerated in wages or commission between September 2015 and October 2016, I have adjusted the dates of your employment with *previous employer* and assessment recalculated.
This change in your qualifications resulted in a loss of 19 points, from 465 to 446 points that brought your rank below the lowest ranking person who was invited to apply in your round of invitation, under the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System.
As I have found that you no longer possess the qualification on the basis of which you were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h), you no longer meet the requirements of Section 11.2 of Act.
Following an examination of your application, I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of the Act and Regulations for the reasons explained above. I am therefore refusing your application.
You will receive a refund of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee that you have paid.
The decision communicated in this letter constitutes the definitive and final decision on your present application. Your application will be retained, under current Government of Canada file retention guidelines, for a period of two years. Your application forms and supporting documents will not be returned to you. If you should submit a new application it would require new fees and documentation and would need to meet all the requirements in effect at the time the application is submitted.
You must remove your Job Seeker profile from the Job Bank website as you are no longer an Express Entry candidate. You must also remove any references that you are a candidate for Express Entry from any private job board websites, if you used any.
If you still want to come to Canada as a skilled immigrant, you may take steps to improve your competitiveness and register for Express Entry at a later date. For example, you may try to improve your language score or gain a higher level of education. However, you must meet the minimum requirements to enter the Express Entry pool and there is no guarantee that you will be issued another invitation to apply for permanent residence under one of the immigration programs subject to Express Entry.
Thank you for the interest you have shown in Canada.
Subsection 11(1) of the Act states that a foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply to an officer for a visa or for any other document required by the Regulations. The visa or document may be issued if, following an examination, the officer is satisfied that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of this Act.
In addition, according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:
11.2 An officer may not issue a visa or other document in respect of an application for permanent residence to a foreign national who was issued an invitation under Division 0.1 to make such an application if – at the time the invitation was issued or at the time the officer received their application – the foreign national did not meet the criteria set out in an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(e) or does not have the qualifications on the basis of which they were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h) and were consequently issued the invitation.
Section 11.2 of the Act requires that information provided in your Express Entry Profile concerning your eligibility to be invited to apply (10.3(1)(e)) as well as the qualifications on the basis of which you were ranked (10.3(1)(h)) be valid both at the time the invitation was issued and at the time the application for permanent residence is received.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) invited you to apply for permanent resident status based on the qualifications you claimed in your Express Entry profile. In your Express Entry profile you indicated:
- 2015-09 to 2019-01 - *previous employer*.
Based on the documentation submitted with your application for permanent residence, I am not satisfied that you possess three years of qualifying Canadian work experience.
More specifically, you provided a letter of employment from *previous employer* Inc indicating that you worked as an independent contractor from September 2015 and became a permanent full time employee from October 2016. I requested you to provide me with proof of remuneration from *previous employer* for the period September 2015 to October 2016 and you responded that you are not able to provide T4's as you were an independent service contractor. In accordance with MI 15(7)(b) For the purposes of this section, a period of self-employment or unauthorized work is not to be included in calculating a period of work experience. MI 15(3)(d) indicates that ""For the purposes of this section, Canadian work experience is work experience that is remunerated by the payment of wages or a commission. As you were not remunerated in wages or commission between September 2015 and October 2016, I have adjusted the dates of your employment with *previous employer* and assessment recalculated.
This change in your qualifications resulted in a loss of 19 points, from 465 to 446 points that brought your rank below the lowest ranking person who was invited to apply in your round of invitation, under the Express Entry Comprehensive Ranking System.
As I have found that you no longer possess the qualification on the basis of which you were ranked under an instruction given under paragraph 10.3(1)(h), you no longer meet the requirements of Section 11.2 of Act.
Following an examination of your application, I am not satisfied that you meet the requirements of the Act and Regulations for the reasons explained above. I am therefore refusing your application.
You will receive a refund of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee that you have paid.
The decision communicated in this letter constitutes the definitive and final decision on your present application. Your application will be retained, under current Government of Canada file retention guidelines, for a period of two years. Your application forms and supporting documents will not be returned to you. If you should submit a new application it would require new fees and documentation and would need to meet all the requirements in effect at the time the application is submitted.
You must remove your Job Seeker profile from the Job Bank website as you are no longer an Express Entry candidate. You must also remove any references that you are a candidate for Express Entry from any private job board websites, if you used any.
If you still want to come to Canada as a skilled immigrant, you may take steps to improve your competitiveness and register for Express Entry at a later date. For example, you may try to improve your language score or gain a higher level of education. However, you must meet the minimum requirements to enter the Express Entry pool and there is no guarantee that you will be issued another invitation to apply for permanent residence under one of the immigration programs subject to Express Entry.
Thank you for the interest you have shown in Canada.
Essentially, this is the paragraph it all boils down to:
As you were not remunerated in wages or commission between September 2015 and October 2016, I have adjusted the dates of your employment with *previous employer* and assessment recalculated.
CRA told me I couldn't get a T4. Instead, I provided IRCC with my full 2015 Tax Return which stated my employer at the time. The period of time where I was a contractor with them for 2016 was covered by my 2016 T4. I also provided all my invoices for the period in question.
In short, I believe the statement that I was 'not remunerated in wages or commission between September 2015 and October 2016' and that I was unable to prove that is false.
Do I have grounds to appeal?
Any help on the matter would be much appreciated, thank you.
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