The Best Immigration Lawyer Discusses Barriers that Stateless Persons Face
Applying for immigration to Canada is a lengthy process that requires diligence and patients with even the best of circumstances. But what if someone is stateless? There are many reasons why this may occur but generally speaking, a person is considered to be “stateless” if no State considers them to be a citizen. Since states have specific obligations to their citizens, including many basic rights, the best immigration lawyers know that stateless persons are especially vulnerable.
When is Statelessness Attributed to an Individual?
There are a variety of reasons that an individual may be stateless including problems with birth registrations, loss of citizenship, contradictions or inconsistencies between different countries citizenship laws, breaking up of States. Additionally, like in the recent case of Farah Ghodian, Kuwait does not recognize her as a national and labels her an “illegal resident” within the borders of the country that she resides in.
In Farah Ghodian’s case, she holds Red Cross travel documents that are routinely used for refugees and other stateless persons. However, the Canadian embassy refused to accept these documents to allow her to obtain her permanent residency visa and finally make her way to Canada. A skilled Canada immigration lawyer (who knows that an ICRC documents is acceptable under the law) can fight to overcome such a road block for a stateless individual.
Specifically, section 50(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227) sets out the types of documents that a foreign national must hold to obtain his/her permanent residency visa. Section 50(1)(d) recognizes a document issued by the ICRC to enable and facilitate immigration. The Member of Class refereed to in subsection 70(2) includes the family class in subsection 70(2)(a). As such, in accordance to the Regulations, the Canadian Embassy was required to accept Ms. Ghodian’s ICRC document and grant her permanent residency.
Documents — Permanent Residents
50 (1) In addition to the permanent resident visa required of a foreign national who is a member of a class referred to in subsection 70(2), a foreign national seeking to become a permanent resident must hold
- (d) a travel document that was issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva, Switzerland, to enable and facilitate emigration;
Stateless persons are vulnerable without state protections and the rights that many citizens take for granted. Their Canadian immigration journey requires the skills and knowledge of the best immigration lawyer who will advocate for them every step of the way.
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Arghavan Gerami
Arghavan Gerami is the Founder and Senior Counsel at Gerami Law Professional Corporation ('PC'), a full-service immigration law firm in Ottawa, Ontario. Since 2011, Ms. Gerami has focused her practice on immigration and refugee litigation. Prior to that, Ms. Gerami worked at the Ministry of Attorney General and the Department of Justice and had the privilege of serving the Honourable Mr. Justice M. Evans at the Federal Court of Appeal on immigration and administrative law appeals. Ms. Gerami contributes to the Immigration Law Section of the Canadian Bar Association, the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Ms. Gerami has also published numerous journal articles and presented at various immigration and refugee law conferences and events across Canada.