Dear Mr Brown,

My child has autism and my family was denied permanent residence on that basis (medical inadmissibility) in 2015. The application took six years. I read your article a couple of weeks ago about the change regarding medical admissibility. Therefore, based on that, shouldn’t they grant me permanent residence retroactively?

— WP

Dear WP:

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has announced changes to the medical inadmissibility provision of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, which reflects inclusion of individuals with disabilities.

The proposed changes include:

• Increasing the cost threshold for medical inadmissibility to three times the previous level; and

• Amending the definition of social services by removing references to special education, social and vocational rehabilitation services and personal support services.

Amending the definition of social services will bring greater balance between protecting Canada’s public health-care system and supporting the participation of people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, individuals with hearing or visual impairments and others in society.

I understand the logic behind your question, in that you were denied permanent residence on the basis of medical inadmissibility and since the law has been changed, you believe that you should be granted the permanent residency accordingly. Unfortunately, families whose applications have been denied in the past due to special education costs related to a child’s disability will need to reapply if they wish to be considered under the new rules.

It should also be noted that the basis of your application would be very different in 2009 compared to applying under Express Entry.

Express Entry is the means of ranking applications for permanent residence under the economic class, rendering migration a competition.

The determination as to whether a candidate in the pool occupies the rank required in order to be issued an invitation will be made using the total number of assigned points based on the information provided in their expression of interest and, using a Comprehensive Ranking System that consists of the following components:

A. Core human capital factors, including:

• Age;

• Level of education;

• Official language proficiency; and

• Canadian work experience.

B. Factors regarding an accompanying spouse/common-law partner, include the spouse’s:

• Level of education;

• Official Language proficiency;

• Canadian work experience;

C. Skill transferability factors, including:

• Combination of level of education/proficiency in their first official language;

• Combination of level of education and Canadian work experience;

• Combination of foreign work experience and official language proficiency;

• Combination of Canadian work experience and foreign work experience; and

• Combination of certificate of qualification and official language proficiency.

D. Factors relating to a provincial nomination or a qualifying offer of arranged employment.

As such, although it is unfortunate that you endured the six-year processing time of your application, a new application would have to be submitted. I am not sure how the effects of changes to your age, education, and work experience, or other factors will operate, as I would require your information for an assessment. We may meet for a discussion, if you wish.

Please visit jamaica2canada.com for additional information on Canadian Permanent Residence programmes, including Express Entry, The Study & Work programme, Visas or Appeals, etc.

Antonn Brown, BA, (Hons), LLB, MSc, RCIC, is an immigration counsel and an accredited Canadian education agent of JAMAICA2CANADA.COM — a Canadian immigration and education firm in Kingston. Send questions/comments to jamaica2canada@gmail.com.