Hong Kong Watch Canada hosts seminar on Hong Kong Pathway backlog with Jean Yip MP
On Saturday last week, Hong Kong Watch Canada hosted an important seminar addressing the backlog of Hong Kong Pathway applications at the HongKonger Community Centre Toronto. Nearly 300 Hong Kongers attended in person, with over 250 joining online from various locations across Canada.
The seminar was moderated by Aileen Calverley, Chair of Trustees of Hong Kong Watch, and featured Jean Yip MP representing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). MP Yip engaged with attendees affected by the application backlog, gaining insights into their challenges.
Aileen Calverley shared that Hong Kong Watch had recently met with an immigration policy advisor from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) in Parliament to discuss the possibility of increasing admission targets for the Hong Kong Pathway. She also provided updates on ongoing discussions with an immigration policy advisor from the Office of the Leader of the Opposition (OLO).
Jean Yip MP spoke extensively with attendees to understand the delays in processing permanent residency applications and the issues surrounding rejected Bridging Open Work Permit (BOWP) applications. Many of them expressed concerns about being unable to work legally due to BOWP rejection errors related to the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). Several individuals reported losing their legal status in Canada while waiting for decisions on their BOWP applications. In response, Jean Yip MP assured attendees that she would advocate for those affected by these systemic errors.
To further assist Hong Kong Pathway applicants, Hong Kong Watch has initiated the collection of three types of case submissions this week, which will be forwarded to IRCC by parliamentarians for expedited processing:
Cases where applicants lost legal status while awaiting BOWP decisions
All delayed permanent residency applications submitted in 2023
In the last few weeks, with the assistance of IRCC officials and MPs, Hong Kong Watch has successfully helped numerous Hong Kongers overturn unjust BOWP rejections and facilitated permanent residency for over ten applicants who had been waiting for more than 16 months.
加拿大香港監察舉辦Hong Kong Pathway審批滯後研討會 Jean Yip MP代表移民部出席會見受影響港人
上星期六，加拿大香港監察在多倫多香港人社區中心舉辦「Hong Kong Pathway審批滯後研討會」。近300名港人親身到場參加，另有250多名來自加拿大不同城市的港人在網上參加。
研討會由香港監察信託董事會主席Aileen Calverley主持，並邀請到加拿大國會議員Jean Yip MP代表移民部出席，與受影響港人會面。
Aileen Calverley談到，香港監察最近在加拿大國會會見總理辦公室（PMO）移民政策顧問，討論增加「Hong Kong Pathway」移民目標配額（admission targets）的可能性。她亦匯報了與保守黨黨魁辦公室（OLO）移民政策顧問會談的進展。
Jean Yip MP與參加者深入交流，了解審批滯後的具體情況及過渡開放式工作簽證（BOWP）申請被拒絕的問題。不少港人反映他們的BOWP申請被當局以「勞動市場影響評估」（LMIA）為理由拒絕，因而無法合法工作。一些港人指出在等候BOWP申請審批期間失去合法居留加拿大身分。Jean Yip MP表示會為受這些系統錯誤影響的人倡議。
為進一步援助「Hong Kong Pathway」申請人，香港監察已在這星期收集三類個案，再由國會議員轉交移民部，要求特快處理：
香港監察過去幾星期在移民部官員及國會議員的協助下，成功幫助數十名被無理拒絕BOWP申請的港人翻案，另有超過十名等待超過16個月的申請人獲得永居身分。