New travel rules causing grief for landed immigrants

Many people are clamouring to come to Canada as refugees and landed immigrants but an increasing number are renouncing their immigration status.

The obstruction faced at international airports when they want to return to Canada after a trip is one of the reasons for the significant increase since the federal government introduced new regulations last November.

In the last 18 months, more than 4,000 British, Australian, German and French citizens renounced their immigration status that allowed them to live in Canada, according to a story by Douglas Todd in the Vancouver Sun this week. There may be a variety of reasons for the decision but the number of people renouncing their immigration status was only 605 in 2015.

All travellers from visa-exempt countries have to have applied and received an electronic travel authorization (eTA) before checking in for a flight to Canada.

Anyone who has Canadian citizenship can check in for a flight only if they are travelling on a Canadian passport. That means someone born in Germany and holding a valid EU passport, if they are a Canadian citizen as well, must travel only on a Canadian passport when flying back to Canada. You may feel a Canadian citizen should only have a Canadian passport. If all governments introduced a law like Canada’s they would need a passport from their country of birth in order to visit family there.

According to the media story this week those with permanent residency in Canada — in other words “landed immigrants” — but do not have their plastic permanent resident card with them are confronted before checking in for the flight.

A Toronto immigration lawyer is quoted as saying customs and airline officials are advising such people the quickest way to be allowed to fly into Canada is to renounce their immigration status.

For someone who has purchased a ticket for a flight, renouncing immigration status may seem like a solution to get on the flight and avoid additional expense and complications. They then come to Canada as a tourist and start the process again of attaining immigration status — if they still care to at that point.

A permanent resident is someone who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen.

The official change was not well publicized at the time and clearly many Canadian citizens and permanent residents are being caught off guard in a foreign country — because of a government initiative to keep those who should not be allowed into Canada at bay.

We are about to enter the busiest travel season and possibly many more people are going to be stranded at airports. There does not appear to be any government program at airports warning travellers as they depart Canada that a new rule is in effect when they will want to return.

If this change was so necessary for the safety of Canada then the ones being punished at present appear to be the innocent who have not been informed and that is very sad indeed.

(Gillian Slade is a News reporter. To comment on this and other editorials, go to www.medicinehatnews.com/opinions or call her at 403-528-8635.)