Navigating the Family Law Provisions: Migrant Women’s Voices

This article considers the voices of migrant women engaging with Home Affairs to guarantee permanent residency (PR) in Australia after experiencing domestic violence. Data collected from longitudinal interviews with 20 participants were considered, with two participants’ stories analysed in detail. The research indicates how the legal immigration system is set up in a way that does not listen to women and disadvantages them. Particular issues pointed out include extended timelines, lack of concern for cultural differences and inconsistencies in the process, and how they affect women undermining the goal of the law, which is to protect migrants from sponsors’ violence.

SARS-CoV-2 testing and COVID-19 related primary care use among people with citizenship, permanent residency, and temporary immigration status in British Columbia: Cross-sectional analysis of population-based administrative data

Background: Having temporary immigration status affords limited rights, workplace protections, and access to services. There is not yet research data on impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for people with temporary immigration status in Canada. Methods: We use linked administrative data to describe SARS-CoV-2 testing, positive tests, and COVID-19 primary care service use in British Columbia from January 1, 2020, to July 31, 2021, stratified by immigration status (Citizen, Permanent Resident, Temporary Resident). We plot the rate of people tested and the rate of people confirmed positive for COVID-19 by week from April 19, 2020, to July 31, 2021, across immigration groups. Results: 4.9% of people with temporary immigration status had a positive test for SARS-CoV-2 over this period, compared to 4.0% among people with permanent residency and 2.1% among people who hold Canadian citizenship. This pattern is persistent by sex/gender, age group, neighborhood income quintile, health authority, and in both metropolitan and small urban settings. At the same time we observe lower access to testing and COVID-19 related primary care among people with temporary status. Interpretation: People with temporary immigration status in BC experience higher SARS-CoV-2 test positivity; alarmingly, this was coupled with lower access to testing and primary care. Interwoven immigration, health and occupational policies place people with temporary status in circumstances of precarity and higher health risk. Extending permanent residency status to all immigrants residing in Canada and decoupling access to health care from immigration status could reduce precarity due to temporary immigration status.

Indian migrant workers and global city Singapore: What determines the preference for and (relative) cost of a migration destination?

Global city ambitions and associated cosmopolitan aspirations are principally oriented towards attracting highly skilled migrants who are offered the opportunity of permanent residency. In contrast, low-skilled migrants increasingly face issues of segregation and sanitation, being housed in dormitories far from the city centre, often explained as an attempt to ‘decongest’ the city. That these migrants are not considered part of the aspired cosmopolitan gloss that global cities like to associate themselves with is furthermore underscored by their status as permanently temporary with no option to stay-on beyond a maximum number of years. This article challenges the inherent assumption that low-skilled migrants’ choice for a particularly migration destination is only motivated by monetary reasons. It does so by drawing on two distinct research projects: the first among migration agents in Chennai (Tamil Nadu, India), the second among variously skilled migrants from India in Singapore. By doing so, the article explicates that not only the cost of formalities, agency fees and travel contribute to how expensive it is to migrate to a particular destination (e.g. the Gulf, Malaysia or Singapore) but also its brand value, mainly determined by its assumed quality of life outside work. This brand value speaks to both low- and highly skilled workers, although in different ways.

The Case for Permanent Residency for Frontline Workers

This article presents the case for granting permanent residency to those experiencing significant risks throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to increase citizens’ safety. Increasing safety comes in many forms: directly, as when doctors, paramedics, and nurses assist patients, and indirectly, as when farmworkers produce life-sustaining food, garbage collectors protect sanitation, and social workers respond to emergency calls. A range of such workers are owed gratitude-derived duties from citizens that are best fulfilled via permanent residency. I defend this claim first for authorized migrants and then for unauthorized migrants, whose presence citizens would consent to if they were aware of the benefits they provide. Finally, I defend the claim that many frontline workers not owed gratitude are owed duties of justice, acquiring rights similar to those of permanent residency.

"A Stone In The Ocean": A Mixed Methods Investigation Into The Experiences Of Families Trying To Reunite In Canada

Every year many families are formed, or find themselves separated, across borders. To address the problem of family separation, the family class stream of immigration to Canada, which accounts for 20-30% of new immigrants annually, allows citizens or permanent residents to sponsor certain family members for permanent residency. Yet there has been very little research on experiences of this policy. Family reunification immigration, located at the intersection of the personal and the political, has been marginalized by masculinized policy disciplines that focus on macro-trends in immigration and render the family invisible, and by feminized disciplines that focus on the family and individual in immigration while rendering policy invisible. This dissertation fills that gap in the literature, using a critical policy studies approach informed by aspects of Critical Theory, intersectionality and Foucauldian interpretations of power. I explore the lived experiences of families as they apply to reunite through the family class stream, and of families who would like to apply to reunite but cannot. I used mixed methods—qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys—to collect data from 169 families, and 100 key informants who support applicant families, including lawyers, consultants, settlement workers and constituency office caseworkers. This approach and research design allowed me to expose and develop a deep knowledge of families’ experiences that have until now been marginalized. Findings show that, though the decision on an immigration application is important, a sole focus on that decision both excludes applicants’ vastly different experiences during the process and renders invisible those who cannot even apply. Diversity in experiences was closely related to interactions between different aspects of social location, and policy design and implementation. Applicants exercised many forms of initiative and agency, but were ultimately constrained by policy structures. The new Government has recently made promising changes, but we must ensure these changes are effective and continue to advocate for further improvements that would mitigate applicants’ negative experiences. Finally, more research needs to be done, most importantly on family reunification through immigration streams that were excluded from this study.

"A Stone In The Ocean": A Mixed Methods Investigation Into The Experiences Of Families Trying To Reunite In Canada

Every year many families are formed, or find themselves separated, across borders. To address the problem of family separation, the family class stream of immigration to Canada, which accounts for 20-30% of new immigrants annually, allows citizens or permanent residents to sponsor certain family members for permanent residency. Yet there has been very little research on experiences of this policy. Family reunification immigration, located at the intersection of the personal and the political, has been marginalized by masculinized policy disciplines that focus on macro-trends in immigration and render the family invisible, and by feminized disciplines that focus on the family and individual in immigration while rendering policy invisible. This dissertation fills that gap in the literature, using a critical policy studies approach informed by aspects of Critical Theory, intersectionality and Foucauldian interpretations of power. I explore the lived experiences of families as they apply to reunite through the family class stream, and of families who would like to apply to reunite but cannot. I used mixed methods—qualitative interviews and quantitative surveys—to collect data from 169 families, and 100 key informants who support applicant families, including lawyers, consultants, settlement workers and constituency office caseworkers. This approach and research design allowed me to expose and develop a deep knowledge of families’ experiences that have until now been marginalized. Findings show that, though the decision on an immigration application is important, a sole focus on that decision both excludes applicants’ vastly different experiences during the process and renders invisible those who cannot even apply. Diversity in experiences was closely related to interactions between different aspects of social location, and policy design and implementation. Applicants exercised many forms of initiative and agency, but were ultimately constrained by policy structures. The new Government has recently made promising changes, but we must ensure these changes are effective and continue to advocate for further improvements that would mitigate applicants’ negative experiences. Finally, more research needs to be done, most importantly on family reunification through immigration streams that were excluded from this study.

Assessing Canada’s Support of International Students [Working Paper]: A Comprehensive Review of Canada’s Retention and Settlement of its “Model Immigrants”

The aim of this research paper is to present the findings of an extensive literature review related to barriers international students experience transitioning to employment and permanent residency in Canada. International students who wish to work in Canada temporarily have difficulty receiving employment because of limited co-operative education opportunities and a lack of professional networks. The lack of settlement services, the numerous complexities of immigration policies, and the minimal awareness among students hinder the process for these individuals to immigrate to Canada permanently. These realities hold significant policy implications for the federal and provincial levels of government because Canada continues to admit educated and skilled labour in order to address national priorities such as long-term labour shortage and population decline. International students, especially those who hope to secure employment and permanency in Canada, are an attractive population, given the Canadian education and social capital they have received upon completion of their studies. This report will also provide a comprehensive review of several best practices and policy suggestions in addressing the challenges described above. Additionally, I will offer some practical recommendations for those involved in this transition process.

Assessing Canada’s support of international students: a comprehensive review of Canada’s retention and settlement of its “Model Immigrants”

The unprecedented growth in the number of international students in Canada over the last decade has drawn the attention of policy makers at all levels of government in Canada. The federal, provincial and territorial levels of government have introduced permanent residency pathways to encourage international students to become permanent residents of Canada. International students are an attractive group as prospective immigrants because of their Canadian education and human capital. However, they experience variety of challenges transitioning to employment and permanent residency in Canada. Lack of limited co-operative education opportunities and labor market preparation hinders the process of finding employment while the absence of settlement services and the complexities of immigration policies complicate the process of seeking permanent residency in Canada. These realities hold significant policy implications for the federal and provincial levels of government because Canada continues to admit educated and skilled labor in order to address labor and demographic needs. Key words: socioeconomic integration, human capital, internationalization, transitional barriers, recruitment and retention

Fair access to regulated professions: decoding the transition of migrant caregivers to nursing in Ontario

The Live-in Caregiver program provides a gendered pathway to permanent residency in Canada for women who are internationally trained nurses. Upon attaining permanent residency and open work permits, internationally trained nurses can become registered members with the College of Nurses of Ontario, which will allow them to re-enter the nursing profession. However, in light of recent amendments to the registration regulation by the College of Nurses of Ontario issues of unequal treatment for international applicants arise. This paper examines the regulation of the Live-in Caregiver Program, and the recent amendments to the registration regulation by the College of Nurses of Ontario, to present the systemic oppression and discrimination which creates barriers for internationally trained nurses to their transition from caregiving to nursing in Ontario. Conclusions state that amendments to the regulatory policies must occur to eliminate the inequalities against internationally trained nurses.

Assessing Canada’s support of international students: a comprehensive review of Canada’s retention and settlement of its “Model Immigrants”

The unprecedented growth in the number of international students in Canada over the last decade has drawn the attention of policy makers at all levels of government in Canada. The federal, provincial and territorial levels of government have introduced permanent residency pathways to encourage international students to become permanent residents of Canada. International students are an attractive group as prospective immigrants because of their Canadian education and human capital. However, they experience variety of challenges transitioning to employment and permanent residency in Canada. Lack of limited co-operative education opportunities and labor market preparation hinders the process of finding employment while the absence of settlement services and the complexities of immigration policies complicate the process of seeking permanent residency in Canada. These realities hold significant policy implications for the federal and provincial levels of government because Canada continues to admit educated and skilled labor in order to address labor and demographic needs. Key words: socioeconomic integration, human capital, internationalization, transitional barriers, recruitment and retention