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Gulf allure: Canada is losing immigrants
By George Abraham (KT Exclusive)
19 October 2007
OTTAWA — Canadians woke up on September 12 to learn that their iconic CN Tower in Toronto had lost out to the ever-taller Burj Dubai. But they have a harder time understanding why thousands of accomplished immigrants land in their country only to return to the Arabian Gulf almost immediately.
According to Canada’s immigration programme manager in Abu Dhabi, “Unless something major happens in the region to make the Gulf less attractive for expat workers, there is not a pool of professionals who are serious about settling in Canada.” The despondent Canadian officer goes on to say: “Local lore is full of stories of Canadians who never lived in Canada,” adding that a year-long survey conducted by the Abu Dhabi mission had shown that 98 per cent of applicants for immigrant visas were planning to return to the Gulf almost immediately after landing in Canada.
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Yet, given the trends, the immigrant programme manager offers this bleak assessment: “The impact of all this on our immigration programme is that many applicants do not really want to leave the Gulf as long as they can maintain their Gulf residence permit.<o>
</o> Here is how the CIC officer sums up the relative advantages of life in the Gulf: “It is much cheaper to run a business in the Gulf than in Canada, not only because of the tax free environment, but also from the point of view of low labour costs. Except for a few professions, immigrants simply cannot earn as much, pay as little for employees or maintain household domestic staff for their home at Third World rates in Canada as they can in the Gulf.”<o>
</o> Kurland and his lawyer colleagues are weighing the implications for their clients. This year is the fifth anniversary after Canada introduced its Maple Leaf card (also called the Permanent Residence card) to all those who landed in Canada on immigrant visas.<o>
</o> Under normal circumstances, all immigrants become citizens after three years of continuous stay, but those who don’t, must renew these wallet-sized cards at the end of five years. The regulations specify that the card will not be renewed unless the immigrant has spent at least two years (730 days) in the last five-year period.<o>
</o> It is a brand new game, says Kurland. “The five-year residency test is a new enforcement concept in Canadian immigration law.” The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Web site, though, makes it quite clear: “A permanent resident (PR) who does not meet their residency obligations could lose PR status.”<o>
</o> The Abu Dhabi mission’s report also confirms that there is a scramble to return to Canada in time to renew the PR cards.<o>
</o> Canada is also mindful of the long-term consequences of a large number of immigrants living elsewhere and then coming ‘home’ in time for retirement. “All this may become a bigger issue for Canada if the thousands of Canadians working in the Gulf, many of whom either stayed in Canada the minimum time possible, if at all, decide to return to Canada in their later years to utilise social programmes,” the immigration programme manager reported to his superiors in Ottawa.<o>
</o> Canada’s Abu Dhabi mission continues to see a steady growth in the number of visa applications. “The high application rate is related to what Canada can do for them, not the other way around.<o>
</o> Obtaining a western citizenship while living in the Gulf is big business and most like-minded missions report the same problems.” The big B aspect comes from consultants who sell what the Canadian government refers to as “settlement packages” that help immigrants maintain their residency status while still working in the Gulf.<o>
</o> These packages typically include drivers’ licences, a Social Insurance Number, health and bank cards. But not content with helping immigrants balance their Gulf and Canadian lives, a virtual industry has sprouted, the CIC document reveals. Con artists have duped would-be immigrants by collecting fees but not submitting applications on their behalf or remaining “undercover” because they are not accredited by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC).<o>
</o> The immigration programme manager’s report also narrates other dubious visitor requests. It reports that an “estimated 200-400 applications are from women who want to give birth in Canada and we have identified a handful of fake pregnancy test results.” (CIC declined an opportunity to explain.)<o>
</o> The mission has launched an analysis of this so-called practice of ‘passport babies,’ suggesting that Canada look at New Zealand’s policy of linking a newborn’s nationality to that of its parents.<o>
</o> George Abraham is an Ottawa-basedjournalist and contributing editor of Diplomat magazine
Khaleej Times Online - Gulf allure: Canada is losing immigrants
By George Abraham (KT Exclusive)
19 October 2007
OTTAWA — Canadians woke up on September 12 to learn that their iconic CN Tower in Toronto had lost out to the ever-taller Burj Dubai. But they have a harder time understanding why thousands of accomplished immigrants land in their country only to return to the Arabian Gulf almost immediately.
According to Canada’s immigration programme manager in Abu Dhabi, “Unless something major happens in the region to make the Gulf less attractive for expat workers, there is not a pool of professionals who are serious about settling in Canada.” The despondent Canadian officer goes on to say: “Local lore is full of stories of Canadians who never lived in Canada,” adding that a year-long survey conducted by the Abu Dhabi mission had shown that 98 per cent of applicants for immigrant visas were planning to return to the Gulf almost immediately after landing in Canada.
<o></o>
Yet, given the trends, the immigrant programme manager offers this bleak assessment: “The impact of all this on our immigration programme is that many applicants do not really want to leave the Gulf as long as they can maintain their Gulf residence permit.<o>
</o> Here is how the CIC officer sums up the relative advantages of life in the Gulf: “It is much cheaper to run a business in the Gulf than in Canada, not only because of the tax free environment, but also from the point of view of low labour costs. Except for a few professions, immigrants simply cannot earn as much, pay as little for employees or maintain household domestic staff for their home at Third World rates in Canada as they can in the Gulf.”<o>
</o> Kurland and his lawyer colleagues are weighing the implications for their clients. This year is the fifth anniversary after Canada introduced its Maple Leaf card (also called the Permanent Residence card) to all those who landed in Canada on immigrant visas.<o>
</o> Under normal circumstances, all immigrants become citizens after three years of continuous stay, but those who don’t, must renew these wallet-sized cards at the end of five years. The regulations specify that the card will not be renewed unless the immigrant has spent at least two years (730 days) in the last five-year period.<o>
</o> It is a brand new game, says Kurland. “The five-year residency test is a new enforcement concept in Canadian immigration law.” The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Web site, though, makes it quite clear: “A permanent resident (PR) who does not meet their residency obligations could lose PR status.”<o>
</o> The Abu Dhabi mission’s report also confirms that there is a scramble to return to Canada in time to renew the PR cards.<o>
</o> Canada is also mindful of the long-term consequences of a large number of immigrants living elsewhere and then coming ‘home’ in time for retirement. “All this may become a bigger issue for Canada if the thousands of Canadians working in the Gulf, many of whom either stayed in Canada the minimum time possible, if at all, decide to return to Canada in their later years to utilise social programmes,” the immigration programme manager reported to his superiors in Ottawa.<o>
</o> Canada’s Abu Dhabi mission continues to see a steady growth in the number of visa applications. “The high application rate is related to what Canada can do for them, not the other way around.<o>
</o> Obtaining a western citizenship while living in the Gulf is big business and most like-minded missions report the same problems.” The big B aspect comes from consultants who sell what the Canadian government refers to as “settlement packages” that help immigrants maintain their residency status while still working in the Gulf.<o>
</o> These packages typically include drivers’ licences, a Social Insurance Number, health and bank cards. But not content with helping immigrants balance their Gulf and Canadian lives, a virtual industry has sprouted, the CIC document reveals. Con artists have duped would-be immigrants by collecting fees but not submitting applications on their behalf or remaining “undercover” because they are not accredited by the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultants (CSIC).<o>
</o> The immigration programme manager’s report also narrates other dubious visitor requests. It reports that an “estimated 200-400 applications are from women who want to give birth in Canada and we have identified a handful of fake pregnancy test results.” (CIC declined an opportunity to explain.)<o>
</o> The mission has launched an analysis of this so-called practice of ‘passport babies,’ suggesting that Canada look at New Zealand’s policy of linking a newborn’s nationality to that of its parents.<o>
</o> George Abraham is an Ottawa-basedjournalist and contributing editor of Diplomat magazine
Khaleej Times Online - Gulf allure: Canada is losing immigrants
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