Alex Kvaskov | News Editor
Featured image: Silvana Klaric Boricic, a fine arts graduate, has been given 90 days to leave Canada. | Amir Yazdanparast
A York graduate and staff member is falling through the cracks in Canada’s immigration system after her Post Graduate Work Permit, or PGWP, expired in September. Silvana Klaric Boricic, a fine arts graduate, is facing what she describes as a death sentence: if she does not apply to restore her residency status in Canada by January 6, she has to leave Canada.
Although a beaming Justin Trudeau and Kathleen Wynne greeted Syrian refugees last year, Canada’s supposedly welcoming immigration system continues to shortchange international students applying for Canadian Permanent Residency, or PR, through the Express Entry, or EE, system.
Studying and working at York
Between 2008 and 2013, Klaric Boricic completed her undergraduate studies at York. In September of 2013, she received a PGWP valid for three years, which was exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment, or LMIA.
“Upon the issuance of a post-graduate work permit, the student’s temporary status has changed from international student to work permit holder,” says York spokesperson Barbara Joy.
Canadian employers may need to get an LMIA before hiring a foreign worker. Accordingly, a positive LMIA will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job and that no Canadian worker is available to do the job. As a Canadian Experience Class worker, Klaric Boricic is exempt from LMIA.
Between 2011 and 2014, Klaric Boricic acquired over a year’s worth of Canadian work experience while employed in York’s Housing Office, first in a work-study position and then as Team Lead.
In October, the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC, gave her 90 days to apply to restore her temporary resident status.
“With an expiring work permit, a student needs to extend their authorization to stay as a temporary resident in Canada through either study permit, work permit or visitor record,” adds Joy.
“Should you choose not to apply for restoration of your status, you will remain a person without legal Temporary Resident Status and as such will be required to leave Canada immediately. If you do not leave Canada voluntarily, enforcement action may be taken against you,” ominously reads the Ministry’s email.
Struggles with Express Entry
In 2015, the Canadian government introduced the EE system in which applicants compete among themselves for PR status. If they have enough points based on an assessment of their skills, work experience, language ability and education, they get a PR invite.
That summer, Klaric Boricic successfully applied for EE, hoping to secure a coveted PR invitation. For the purposes of EE, her position did not count because it was LMIA exempt.
Although she received job offers, Klaric Boricic says it made no sense for her to be applying to those positions because they paid less than her employment at York and did not align with her previous experience.
“It should be noted that job offers are different than work experience. A valid job offer under Express Entry must be for a minimum of one year once an applicant receives permanent residence, non-seasonal, at the National Occupational Classification 0, A or B level and supported by a Labour Market Impact Assessment unless one is not needed,” says Lindsay Wemp, media monitor for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“In this case, the extension of the student’s employment would require support from the employer. We would encourage the student to discuss the LMIA application circumstances with their employer as the government requires that the employer is involved in the process,” says Joy.
“LMIAs are not required to obtain points for candidates who hold a valid work permit that was issued under a temporary resident Labour Market Impact Assessment exemption under R204 or R205, have been working full-time for an employer specified on the work permit for a period of at least one year or the equivalent in part-time work, and hold a valid, qualifying job offer of at least one year from the same employer for which they are currently working,” adds Wemp.
Her EE application was assessed at 335 points, well under the threshold for an invite. Although the required point total fluctuates over time, Klaric Boricic realized her PGWP and EE application (valid for one year) would expire sooner than the point total would reach her required assessment level.
Klaric Boricic says her application was assessed unfairly and that she is a victim of ageism “built into” EE: out of 110 points for applicants’ age, she scored none. “It seems that for the Canadian government, human beings over 45 [years old] have no value,” says Klaric Boricic.
She was also awarded no points for her foreign work experience. The government suggests listing work experience in the last 10 years and awards 50 points for three or more years. But because Klaric Boricic has lived in Canada for the last eight years, the application recognized only two years of foreign experience.
This past summer, Klaric Boricic applied for a bridging open work permit to allow her to remain and work in Canada while she awaits a final decision on her PR application. She did not re-submit her EE application because her work permit had expired. In August, Immigration confirmed her appeal and confirmed that her application was in the queue.
Rejected
Enter October 6—ground zero for Klaric Boricic, when the Ministry rejected her application. A spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirmed that Klaric Boricic submitted an application to extend her PGWP in June.
“Her application to extend her Post-Graduate Work Permit was refused as she had already been issued a three-year work permit as part of this program, which is the maximum time allowed,” says Johanne Nadeau, communications advisor for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
“A work permit does not authorize a person to stay in Canada indefinitely and work permit holders are expected to abide by the conditions of their work permit, including ending their employment and leaving the country when their work permit expires, unless they have another legal status in Canada,” adds Nadeau.
It is the responsibility of the individual to continue to have a legal status if they wish to continue to reside in Canada, according to Nadeau.
“The letter sent on October 11, 2016 to Ms. Boricic thanked her for her feedback and advised her that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada was planning a review of the Express Entry system.”
Klaric Boricic says her application should be processed according to pre-EE regulations, or grandfathered, because her permit was issued before the introduction of EE.
Race against time
To his credit, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship John McCallum acknowledges the system is faulty. Since March, he has blitzed the country on a speaking tour, promising changes and reviews of all sorts.
Apart from boosting immigration to Canada, the federal government announced changes to EE last month, some of which include awarding applications on LMIA-exempt permits points for job offers and to international students who completed their studies in Canada.
“The Express Entry improvements announced on November 19, 2016 would apply to her new profile if Ms. Boricic submitted one,” says Wemp.
Klaric Boricic says her biggest issue currently is restoring her work permit so she can continue working and re-submit her EE profile.
“Ms. Boricic may complete a new online profile at any time to see if she once again meets the criteria for the Express Entry pool, making her eligible to receive an invitation to apply if she has a top ranking score.”
To get points for education in Canada, candidates must include the information on their EE profile, according to Wemp.
“Candidates who have completed a degree, diploma or certificate of three years or longer, or for a master’s, professional or doctoral degree of at least one academic year would get 30 points.”
With Klaric Boricic’s last day in Canada fast approaching, she is in a race against time. In the meantime, she has started a petition calling on the Ministry to resolve her situation and is trying to drum up public support for her cause and others like her.
She may even march on Ottawa.
Wonderful exontlaaipn of facts available here.