According to a report by Canada's World Journal, regarding the 1,800 spousal and child sponsorship quotas allocated by the Canadian federal immigration department to the Consulate General of Canada in Hong Kong, local immigration consultant Lin Damin believes that there is a significant gap between the quota and actual demand. Furthermore, he argues that the immigration department lacks an understanding of Chinese cultural customs, leading to an excessively high refusal rate for marriage-based immigration applicants in Hong Kong.
The Canadian project briefing held by Worldway was packed to capacity.
According to Lin Damin's understanding, the spousal and child immigration quota for Hong Kong in 2011 (calculated from April 1st) was 1,800. However, it is estimated that there were approximately 2,000 actual applicants that year, plus a backlog of about 4,000 cases from previous years, totaling 6,000 applications. The success rate is expected to be less than one-third.
Furthermore, based on 2009 data, the refusal rate for marriage-based immigration applications in Hong Kong was as high as 47%, the highest globally. However, among these refused cases, 40% later succeeded in appeals to the Immigration Appeal Division, and another 10% succeeded in appeals to the Federal Court. Therefore, approximately three-quarters of the applications in Hong Kong that year were eventually approved. Lin Damin believes this ratio is relatively reasonable.
He stated that visa officers in Hong Kong are overly strict in reviewing marriage-based immigration applications, causing many genuine marriage cases to be treated as fraudulent attempts to gain immigration status. As a result, those wrongly denied immigration can only receive fair treatment after exhausting time and money through appeals to the Immigration Appeal Division or even the Federal Court.
According to Lin Damin, Canadian visa officers primarily reject marriage-based immigration applications in two categories: first, applicants with a relatively short dating period; and second, applicants whose accounts of their courtship timeline are inconsistent. He pointed out that many Chinese people in Canada return to their home country to find a partner, usually introduced by friends or family. They meet because they feel their conditions are a match, and after getting to know each other and finding mutual affection, they marry without needing a long dating period. Additionally, Chinese couples often do not have a formal marriage proposal ceremony like Westerners, and their definitions of such events differ; some consider the discussion of marriage as the proposal, while others consider the establishment of a romantic relationship as the proposal.
Lin Damin has already presented his views on marriage-based immigration applications in Hong Kong to the immigration department through the local senior immigration lawyer, Loudenberg. He further suggests that based on the 6,000 applications in 2011, the immigration department should grant the Consulate General in Hong Kong approximately 4,500 quotas to meet objective needs.
