Immigration Glossary

A formal event where Canadian citizens express their commitment to Canada by repeating the oath of citizenship.

The process by which a person may be required to surrender their certificate if there is reason to believe that the person may not be entitled to the certificate or has violated any of the provision of the Act.

An official document once issued to a person when they arrived in Canada as a permanent resident. Canada stopped issuing records of landing on June 28, 2002.

A record suspension (formerly a pardon) allows people who were convicted of a criminal offence, but have completed their sentence and demonstrated they are law-abiding citizens for a prescribed number of years, to have their criminal record kept separate and apart from other criminal records.

A person who has applied for refugee protection status while in Canada and is waiting for a decision on his/her claim from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

A family member of a refugee in Canada, whose application for permanent residence is processed at the same time as the principal applicant’s.

A permanent resident who applied for and received permanent resident status in Canada after their refugee claim was accepted.

When a person, inland or overseas is determined to be a Convention refugee or protected person, they are said to have refugee protection status in Canada. Refugee protection is given to a person in accordance with theImmigration and Refugee Protection Act.

A document for people in Canada with protected-person status to use for travel outside Canada. This includes refugees and people who have received a positive Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. It can be used to travel anywhere except the country the person is a citizen of or the country of claimed persecution.

A process by which a person can overcome criminal inadmissibility.

A marriage, common-law relationship, conjugal partnership or adoption that is not genuine, or was entered into for status or privilege in Canada. People in these relationships are not members of the family class.

A person who is related to another person by blood or adoption.

When an immigration official orders a person to leave Canada. There are three types of removal orders (departure, exclusion and deportation) and each one has different consequences.

The process by which a citizen willingly gives up officially his or her Canadian citizenship. Once a citizenship judge approves an application for renunciation, a renunciation certificate is issued.

A person who has the permission of someone wanting to immigrate to Canada to conduct business with CIC on their behalf. The representative can be paid or unpaid. When someone appoints a representative, they may also authorizeCIC to share information from their case file with this person. Canada’s immigration law covers representatives and defines the terms of their services.

The amount of time a permanent resident must live in Canada to be eligible for a grant of Canadian citizenship. Adults must have lived in Canada for at least three years (1,095 days) in the past four years preceding immediately the date of application. It does not apply to children under 18 years old.

The process by which a former citizen may resume his or her Canadian citizenship back after one year of residence in Canada as a permanent resident preceding immediately the date of application. They must become a permanent resident first.

Retired means you have willingly stopped working. This is usually because of age.

The process by which the Government of Canada may revoke a person’s Canadian citizenship. Reasons for revocation include : · false representation, · commits fraud, or · knowingly conceals any material circumstances

A charge paid by a principal applicant (with some exceptions), and a spouse or common-law partner travelling with them, before the applicant can become a permanent resident of Canada.