Sponsorship with criminal inadmissibility

Just to be clear about the resources I am familiar with relative to these issues, the sources I rely upon to a large extent, and which may be of interest to anyone evaluating whether or not to apply for a TRP, allow me to link to those sources upfront:

OP 20 "Temporary Resident Permits

OP 11 regarding Temporary Residents generally

CIC website page regarding inadmissibility generally

CIC web page (with links) regarding Temporary resident permts generally

February Operational Bulletin 389

IP 1 Temporary Resident Permits

It is worth noting, as you have previously alluded to, there is some effort underway at CIC to mitigate the harsh impact of its policies regarding inadmissibility as it affects those who have a single conviction for what might be described as a "minor" offence, noting though that I not seen CIC documentation referring to "minor" offences per se. In any event, this is illustrated by the Operational Bulletin 389, issued barely two months ago (linked above).

This appears to be addressing the impact of inadmissibility on one-time offenders who received no term of imprisonment as part of the sentence imposed. One might generically refer to these as "minor" offences, but, again, that is not language I have seen CIC use.

This is rather new, however, and so how it practically fits into the matrix of qualifying for and being granted a TRP is not yet that clear.

The operational bulletin just issued in late February, it might be noted, OB 389, is substantively only about a fee waiver but which is clearly intended to facilitate easier grants of TRPs to this class of FN who is technically inadmissible (as I recall it may even refer to a single DUI conviction as an example).

mpottier: If celebrities and rich people get granted TRP's more commonly that regular folk, then there is bias in the system, which violates the law.

Not really. That is, just because high profile persons get permission/authority to enter Canada more often than Foreign Nationals generally with the same underlying reason for inadmissibility does not necessarily mean it is due to bias.

It is, I would infer, more about the particular circumstances such individuals are in and the nature of the reason for their visit to Canada, than it is any bias in favour of such individuals per se. For a world-class artist or actor or athlete, for example, who has been invited to participate in a function of significant cultural importance, there is obviously a relatively compelling reason to allow them into Canada for that function. Other factors, like the risks involved, can be and probably are routinely analyzed in similar ways. In other words, it is not that they are rich or famous that gets them into Canada despite some technical criminal inadmissibility, it is that such individuals are more likely to be in circumstances which entail compelling factors in their favour. (And may have relevance in other factors considered in the granting of a TRP.)

Even then, though, the TRPs granted, so far as I understand it, are fairly narrow in scope, limiting the visit to Canada in a rather restrictive sense, including in particular the duration of the allowed visit.

But, of course, each individual situation presents its own pros and cons and issues and so on, and thus is very dependent on the individual, the reason, the context, and other details.

(Part of why it is so difficult to get a read on the nature and scope of who gets a TRP, when, why, and so on, is that the TRP process covers a huge range of reasons for entry into Canada . . . some for very temporary reasons . . . some involving long term residence and even including work permits and such, with all sorts of variations in between . . . some TRP's, for example, automatically result in a grant of Permanent Resident status when the time is completed. But CIC does not do much to sort one from the other for those of us who are mere laypersons trying to grasp what is available, what isn't, and so on . . . and of course this is part of why I emphasize that a lawyer's assistance can be important in this area. And of course I recognize that competent legal assistance is, indeed, beyond the means of many, which is just one more aspect of how much those who are not affluent, let alone those who are outright poor, are at a disadvantage in so many ways in the world as it is.)

mpottier: the statistics for TRP's granted to people who are inadmissable and who also have a family class sponsorship in process is quite high. Yes people who are just coming as tourists are not given them as much. The percentage for sponsorship TRP's granted for people with minor offences is somewhere in the 70-80% range (maybe more as my math is not so great). These statistics are available on immigration's website and stats Canada.

I do not know the statistics regarding TRP applications. Nor do I know what 70-80 percent of what the statistic you refer to is really about . . . I am of course interested in where, precisely (link would be great) such information/statistics can be found.

It sounds like in your particular case you have appealed the rejected PR application. That, I think, is indeed a critically necessary aspect in keeping hope for the TRP alive.

In contrast to the suggestion of CIC efforts to mitigate the impact of CIC's policies toward inadmissibility relative to certain offences, "minor" offences one might say (though again, the term "minor" is perhaps a misnomer or could be misleading), the aplicable operational manual (IP 1 Temporary Resident Permits) and the general CIC online information generally says that a TRP is a "document that is only issued in exceptional cases." The other operational manual that covers this subject is, again, OP 20 Temporary Resident Permits, where the language is not the same but is similar.

Perhaps I put too much emphasis on the in exceptional cases aspect. I do not really know how exceptional a case must be. Obviously, if around three out of four applications are granted, that does not sound as if it is limited to "exceptional" circumstances.

Hey I read this article and thought it showed some valuable information about TRP's , this was in the news today.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/05/01/pol-conrad-black-canadian-permit.html

Those not familiar with Conrad Black, he renounced his Canadian citizenship, which is rare in its own right, but he also just served years in prison in the USA for fraud, and a few other offenses. This article also give some good stats on the amount of TRP's issued every year. The immigration minster says they issue around 10,000 a year, and about 6,600 of these are for people with minor offenses, and around 907 are for major offenses (they define this as violent offenses), the others are for everything else. Conrad Black was a issued a year long TRP, because his wife is Canadian. He obviously had a team of lawyers working on his case, but he hasn't even been released from prison yet!?
This article also sheds light on the possible double standard in this system. Very Interesting.

Good news all!! We FINALLY got our TRP issued! hooray! They sent us an e-mail with the attached documents. They issued her a full 3 year visa! Very good news we are elated. They also mentioned that she can apply for a study or work permit upon arrival. I just wanted to thank everyone who gave their thoughts, experiences, and ideas on this forum. It was very helpful and let us get through this difficult time. I also hope this forum gives others hope for the future, and show that it can be done ( and in my case with no legal aid or immigration consultants). 

I had a quick question. I sent in my TRP and got backs letter around the 7 of march saying my application is being processed. I have a traffic citation for retail theft and a dismissed possession charge. It is now 3 months since they have started the processing, when should I expect to recieve the TRP?

I got a dismissed charge in 2007 and the non traffic citation for the retail theft happened feb of 2010. The retail theft was a non traffic citation which is less than a misdemeanor all I had to do was pay a fine. I have a long term gf in Ontario.. I was stopped this time last year and denied because of that. I got all the paperwork needed for TRP and submitted and got received there march 7. I requested for a year TRP for multiple entry because I have a full time job here in the states and just want to be able to visit my gf and her family on weekends and holidays.