Rejections for permanent residency requests in Canada doubled since 2019

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The rate of rejection for permanent residence applications on humanitarian grounds in Canada has doubled since 2019, the Migrants Rights Network revealed Tuesday.

In a virtual news conference, the organization’s Syed Hussan said 70 per cent of requests were rejected from January to March 2021 compared to 35 per cent in 2019.

The data comes from an access to information request filed by the New Democratic Party.

“The Liberal government must explain why there is such a surge in denials of humanitarian requests and take immediate action to rectify this,” said NDP MP Jenny Kwan in a statement. She is accusing the Liberals of having “discreetly made decisions behind closed doors” concerning an already “opaque and arbitrary” immigration process.

“We don’t understand what’s going on,” Hussan said. “There has been no policy change, no announcement.”

Hussan added that by doubling rejections, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is doubling the exploitation of migrant workers without status. The change of direction “condemns the migrants already here” by “depriving them of the possibility of having rights,” he said.

Immigrants without status can’t benefit from health insurance or government services. Forced into illegal employment, they are also denied from protections offered by labour standards.

Even though the immigration department considers humanitarian applications to be an “exceptional measure,” many migrants see them as the only hope of obtaining permanent residency. Decisions are made based on the applicant’s level of integration, whether there are children involved and the possible consequences in the event of refusal. The requirements are different from those for refugee status, where the applicant risks violence if they return to their country of origin.

Documents from the immigration department also reveal that in 2021, not all migrants have the same chances of becoming permanent residents through the humanitarian avenue. Eighty-three per cent of applicants from the Philippines or India are being rejected compared to only 68 per cent from the United States.

Hussan lamented what he considers to be discrimination against “low-paid, racialized migrants.” His organization advocates for permanent resident status for all migrants and refugees living in Canada, as well as access to health care and protections in the workplace.

Mamadou Batchily, a 44-year-old father of two originally from Mali, said his application for permanent residency was rejected in January 2020 even though he had been living in Quebec for six years.

“I am stuck in precariousness,” he said. In 2018, after a work accident where he had “both legs crushed by a production machine,” he had to be hospitalized for eight months.

“I can’t walk like I used to,” he said.

The incident and the rejection of his request by the immigration department “completely wiped him out.”

“Canada does not value human life,” Batchily said, adding that migrants “have a right to life like other Canadians.”

Queen Gabriel, a health-care worker living in Toronto, said she worked during the pandemic and even contracted COVID-19. Her application was rejected in October 2020.

Without status, Gabriel “wasn’t able to access basic health care during COVID-19,” and also cannot access the education system.

“We can’t live without public services in Canada, we can only exist,” she said, adding she worked for under minimum wage, and that another employer “refused to provide vacation pay,” which violates labour standards.

Permanent residence status, according to Gabriel, is “necessary for everyone” in order not to “live in constant fear” of being deported.

The minister of immigration did not respond to interview requests in time for publication.