Legally Canadian, Immigration Law Firm

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Legally Canadian, Immigration Law Firm Providing a full array of legal services related to immigration to Canada.

If Bill C-3 means you're already a Canadian citizen by descent, congratulations. Now the slow part.Being a citizen and h...
10/16/2026

If Bill C-3 means you're already a Canadian citizen by descent, congratulations. Now the slow part.

Being a citizen and holding the document that proves it are two different things. To get a citizenship certificate you have to apply to IRCC, and the current wait is about 33 months, with roughly 136,000 people already in the queue (IRCC, as of September 2026).

That matters because you can't get a Canadian passport, and often can't prove your status to an employer or government, without the certificate. The sooner the application is in and done right, the sooner the clock starts.

Not sure whether your documents are enough to apply? Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com.

When a relationship ends, one of the first questions an immigration lawyer asks is: how did you come to Canada in the fi...
10/14/2026

When a relationship ends, one of the first questions an immigration lawyer asks is: how did you come to Canada in the first place? Because the answer changes everything.

There are broadly three doors. If you were sponsored, your sponsor signed a binding 3-year undertaking that separation and divorce don't cancel, and if your PR is already granted, a separating spouse cannot simply have you removed. If you came as a family unit, a dependent spouse can lose the right to renew their permit once the relationship ends. And if you arrived through refugee sponsorship, separation during the sponsorship period changes what support you can claim.

The threats people hear ("I'll have you deported," "I'll cancel your status") are usually about control, not law. But the real consequences are specific to your door, and timing matters for all three.

Separating and unsure what it means for your status? Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com.

Adapted from Jenny's panel at the Family Law Now Live Virtual Summit: https://www.youtube.com/live/yUXu6Xvjf1U

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Legally Canadian.To everyone building a life in this country, and to those still wo...
10/12/2026

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Legally Canadian.

To everyone building a life in this country, and to those still working toward it, we're grateful to be part of the journey.

Our office is closed today for the holiday. We're back tomorrow.

AI is everywhere in immigration right now, and used well, it's a genuinely useful tool. Used blindly, it can sink a case...
10/09/2026

AI is everywhere in immigration right now, and used well, it's a genuinely useful tool. Used blindly, it can sink a case.

The problem is what it does with missing information. Give it too little and it won't leave blanks, it fills them, inventing names, dates, and events that sound right and never happened.

In an immigration file, invented facts can read as misrepresentation, and that carries a five-year ban from Canada.

AI doesn't sign your application. You do. And you're the one who wears the consequences if something in it isn't true. So draft with it if it helps, but never submit without someone who knows the stakes reading it first.

Used AI on your application? Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com before it goes to IRCC.

10/07/2026

"If you leave me, I'll have you deported." It's one of the most common threats in a breaking-down sponsored relationship, and it's not true.

Once you're a permanent resident, separation and divorce don't take that away, and your sponsor cannot revoke your status. A lot of people still believe otherwise, partly because Canada used to have conditional permanent residence, a two-year cohabitation requirement. That was repealed in 2017. It no longer exists.

If someone is using your status to control you, that's worth talking to a lawyer about, not living with.

From Jenny's panel at the Family Law Now Live Virtual Summit: https://www.youtube.com/live/yUXu6Xvjf1U

Legal events have a reputation. Predictable CPDs, stiff networking, a lot of watching the clock. So it's worth flagging ...
10/05/2026

Legal events have a reputation. Predictable CPDs, stiff networking, a lot of watching the clock. So it's worth flagging when one gets it right.

Our founder Jenny joined the Inn Laws event by Dylan Gibbs and, in her words, "actually had a real conversation about business, joked about modern practice, heard someone sing, and even paid a little tribute to our law society. None of it felt awkward."

Community is part of how good lawyers stay good. Nice to see it done in a way people actually enjoy.

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.It's a day to remember the children who never returned home from ...
09/30/2026

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

It's a day to remember the children who never returned home from residential schools, and to honour the Survivors, their families, and the communities still living with this history.

Building a life in Canada means understanding its whole story. We're taking the day to listen and reflect.

There is an exception to a misrepresentation finding. It's real, but it's much narrower than most people hope, and it's ...
09/28/2026

There is an exception to a misrepresentation finding. It's real, but it's much narrower than most people hope, and it's hard to establish.

It's called the innocent mistake exception, and it can apply where an error was genuinely honest and beyond what you could reasonably have known. What it is not is a catch-all for "I forgot," "my agent did it," or "I didn't think it mattered." Those explanations, on their own, don't meet it.

To rely on it, you generally have to show you took every reasonable step to get your application right, and that you neither knew nor could reasonably have known about the error. That's a high standard, and it's not one to test on your own after the fact.

If you're hoping this applies to your situation, talk to a lawyer before you respond to anything. Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com.

09/26/2026

Canada's new citizenship by descent rules came into force on December 15, 2025, and opened the door for a lot of people. Here's how the generations actually count, because the language trips everyone up.

The anchor is your starting point: someone born in Canada, or naturalized as a Canadian citizen. The first generation is their child born outside Canada, Canadian by descent. Second generation and beyond is where Bill C-3 changed things: covered retroactively if born before December 15, 2025, or going forward if the parent meets the 1,095-day physical presence test.

One thing to keep in mind. Being a citizen and having the documents to prove it are two different things. Automatic citizenship does not mean automatic paperwork. To get a citizenship certificate, you still have to apply to IRCC.

Not sure whether your documents are enough, or where your family sits in the chain? Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com.

Misrepresentation is the finding that ends more Canadian immigration files than almost any other, and two things about i...
09/25/2026

Misrepresentation is the finding that ends more Canadian immigration files than almost any other, and two things about it catch people completely off guard.

First, it doesn't have to have changed the outcome. The test isn't whether your omission actually affected the decision. It's whether it could have led the process astray, for instance by closing off a line of questioning the officer would otherwise have pursued. That's a low bar.

Second, intent barely matters. You don't need to have meant to deceive. The duty of candour puts the responsibility on you to disclose fully and honestly, and that responsibility doesn't transfer to a consultant, an agent, or the relative who filled in the forms. The consequence is a five-year bar from Canada, which is why a careless omission and a deliberate one can land the same way.

Not sure whether something on your file could be read this way? Book a consultation at legallycanadian.com.

Address

2425 Matheson Boulevard E, 8th Floor
Mississauga, ON
L4V1W1

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Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

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+18885083808

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