The following is collected and archived by CND-Canada. If you have any questions regarding the following information/message, please contact the original sender(s) listed below. Thank You. China News Digest - Canadian Regional Services (Bo Xiong) --------------- Date: Mon, 13 Mar 1995 16:18:46 -0600 Reply-To: Quan Jia Xue Lian From: Quan Jia Xue Lian Subject: Agreement between China and Canada on Immigration To: Multiple recipients of list FCSSCD-L Status: RO Forwarded message: Date: Mon, 13 Mar 95 09:09:23 EST From: Changmin Yan <058194@acadvm1.uottawa.ca> Subject: Agreement between China and Canada on Immigration To: Immigration Centre , FCSSCD-L Immigration from China Immigration Centre, Fcssc Recently, we received a lot of messages concerned about immigration from mainland China. Now, we got the help from Mr. John Ryan, the president of Visa Seminars International and Mr. Carter Hoppe, the president of Hoppe- Jackman Immigration Law Group. Mr. Carter Hoppe is the former chairman of the immigration Section of the Canadian Bar Association(Ontario). In the following letter Mr. Carter Hoppe discussed if there is an agreement between Canada and China on immigration to Canada. If you have more questions or concerns about this, please feel free to contact with us. Regarding, Changming Yan Immigration Centre, Fcssc Tel/Fax (819) 246 9298 Email Fcssc-imm@uwalpha.uwinnipeg.ca 058194@acadvm1.uottawa.ca Date: 12 Mar 95 18:57:08 EST From: "John P. Ryan" To: Changmin Yan Subject: Fwd: Sino-Canadian Agreement Charles Here is a response from Carter re Agreement China/Canada Cheers John ------- FORWARD, Original message follows ------- > Date: Saturday, 11-Mar-95 10:01 PM > > From: Carter Hoppe > Subject: Sino-Canadian Agreement > > To: John Ryan > In response to your query re an agreement between China and Canada, you > may wish to forward this message to Charles Yan. > There is, or at least there was, some kind of agreement or > quasi-agreement between Canada and China, although I have never seen it, > and it may not even exist in terms of a formal written signed treaty. I > have heard of different versions of this so-called agreement, but I must > confess that the version you have conveyed from the authorities in > Shanghai, namely, that the number of exit permissions from China may not > exceed the number of immigrant visas issued by the Canadian Embassy in > Beijing (which is just a complicated way of saying that only persons > holding visas issued from the Canadian Embassy will be permitted to > emigrate) is a new one!! I suspect that there is no formal agreement, and > that there never was such a formal document. Rather, my guess would be > that there has been a kind of understanding which has existed from time > to time, on the part of Canadian immigration officials and the Chinese > officials responsible for: a) issuing visas to Canadian visa officers > entering China to interview prospective immigrants to Canada and b) > issuing exit visas and passports to those persons in possession of > Canadian immigrant visas. The so-called agreement, or understanding, has > no doubt been complicated by the fact that the Canadian Embassy in > Beijing has recently started to issue immigrant visas to Independent > category applicants, something which has never been done before. > To understand this situation, you must appreciate that > emigration/immigration is a two-way proposition, requiring the on-going > co-operation of the sending country and the receiving country, and > sometimes a three-way proposition, if the individual resides in a third > country. > In the past, when China's policy was "closed door", only those persons > with close relatives in Canada were permitted to emigrate to Canada, and > the visiting Canadian visa officers from the visa office in Hong Kong > were monitored as to whom they were allowed to interview. Canada was > content with this policy because the Chinese would not or could not > provide reliable police clearance information, so Canada risked admitting > people with police records, but the family relationship to the Canadian > relative outweighed that risk. I am not sure when the Embassy in Beijing > started issuing immigrant visas (or maybe they always did) but until a > few months ago, they would only issue visitor or student visas to persons > without relatives in Canada. However, if a person with a valid passport > was outside China, and happened to qualify for an immigrant visa, and was > able to satisfy the Canadian visa office in Seattle or anywhere that he > was not a criminal, and if any dependents in China could also pass the > medical check and obtain a police clearance if they were adult, and a > valid passport!, then Seattle would issue immigrant visas to the whole > family. But Seattle (or New York or any visa office) did not have and > still does not have any power to influence the granting of exit > permission from China. For people in China to be processed, the Chinese > must co-operate in terms of permitting medical examinations, police > clearances, issuing passports and exit permission. If the Chinese > authorities do not permit all of those things, the bottom line is: that > person will not emigrate. Whether the information you have provided about > the Shanghai authorities' interpretation of the rules is now official > policy, or only the individual interpretation of that office or some > officers in that office is something I know nothing about, but I would be > interested to learn more about this situation. > Please let me know if you have any further information. > Regards, > Carter Hoppe > ------- FORWARD, End of original message ------- -------- REPLY, Original message follows -------- > Date: Tuesday, 07-Mar-95 11:07 PM > > From: Changmin Yan > To: John P. Ryan > > Subject: +Postage Due+Immigration from China > > Dear John: > Here is a question about immigration from Mainland China. It is said > it is hard to immigrate to Canada from Mainland China because of an > agreement between China and Canada. > I am looking forward to hear from you. > You take care, > Charles. Changming Yan Immigration Centre, Fcssc Tel/Fax (819) 246 9298 Email Fcssc-imm@uwalpha.uwinnipeg.ca 058194@acadvm1.uottawa.ca