Bee The VA March 15th, 2026 Weekly Newsletter
Essential Insights:
CBSA Update
IRCC Updates
PNP Draws
New Caselaws
Job Opportunities
Bee The VA Packages- For start up firms
CBSA Update:
RCMP lays charges after CBSA makes arrests and seizes fraudulent documents
The RCMP has charged three Canadian residents after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) discovered six forged Canadian passports and other fraudulent materials during a secondary inspection at the Peace Bridge port of entry in Fort Erie, Ontario. The individuals were referred for examination after mistakenly heading toward the bridge to the United States. During the search, CBSA officers—assisted by a detector dog team—seized passport-forging equipment, approximately $24,000 in Canadian and U.S. currency, 84 credit, debit, and gift cards, and drug paraphernalia. Following the arrests, the RCMP’s Niagara-on-the-Lake Border Integrity Unit charged the three individuals with possession of forged passports, possession of fraudulently obtained payment cards, and fraud over $5,000 under the Criminal Code. Read here.
IRCC Updates:
Program delivery update: Temporary public policy to support Iranian nationals in Canada
IRCC has updated its program delivery instructions for the International Experience Canada (IEC) program under the International Mobility Program (IMP). As of March 9, 2026, two new initiatives have been added to the Young Professionals stream through bilateral agreements based on reciprocity. These include Inov Contacto for Portugal and the Taiwan Global Pathfinder Initiative (TGPI) for Taiwan, expanding opportunities for eligible participants from these countries to gain professional work experience in Canada under the IEC framework. Read here.
Program delivery update: Temporary special measures to support Iranian nationals in Canada for applications received on or after March 1, 2025
IRCC has updated its instructions regarding the temporary special measures for Iranian nationals for applications received on or after March 1, 2025. The update clarifies eligibility requirements, including that applicants must have arrived in Canada on or before February 28, 2025 and remained in Canada until submitting their application. It also clarifies temporary resident status requirements and confirms that applicants may apply for restoration of status at the same time as an extension of status under the crisis measures. Additional guidance was provided on the use of the Entry/Exit Program, standardized refusal language for client correspondence, and the requirement for officers to apply the correct organization ID when tracking applications submitted under this public policy. Read here.
Program delivery update: Start-Up Business Class and Federal Self-Employed Persons Class programs – Intake pause
New Ministerial Instructions effective January 1, 2026 introduce a pause on intake for both the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program and the Federal Self-Employed Persons (SEP) class. Under the updated guidance, SUV applications submitted before January 1, 2026 will continue to be processed and may still receive priority processing where applicable, while the Centralized Intake Office will stop accepting new SUV applications as of June 30, 2026, with any applications submitted outside these parameters returned with fees. For the SEP program, the intake pause has been extended indefinitely, and no new applications will be accepted, although applications submitted before the initial pause on April 30, 2024 will continue to be processed under existing procedures. Read here.
Program delivery update: Permanent resident travel documents (PRTDs)
IRCC has updated its internal instructions related to permanent resident (PR) cards, PR status, and permanent resident travel documents (PRTDs). The update reorganizes the guidance to separate PRTD information from other PR card and status instructions, making it easier for officers to locate relevant procedures, and includes minor content updates. In addition, the OP 10 manual has been deleted, and a new letter template has been introduced to notify clients of their appeal rights following a negative residency determination. Officers are also instructed that the previous consent form allowing clients to waive appeal rights under section A46(1)(b) has been removed and must no longer be used, and earlier guidelines on issuing PRTDs (OB 626) have expired. Read here.
College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Board of Directors appointments
On March 9, 2026, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Lena Metlege Diab, appointed five directors to the Board of Directors of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants for a two-year term beginning March 7, 2026. Two new members—France Houle, Ad. E., Full Professor at the Faculty of Law, Université de Montréal, and Marc Spector, Deputy Registrar at the Home Construction Regulatory Authority and past president of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation—were appointed. The Minister also reappointed Timothy D’Souza, Senior Vice President of Finance and Business Operations at Diabetes Canada; Rev. Jennifer Henry, Executive Minister of Organizational Development and Strategy at The United Church of Canada; and Ben Rempel, former Assistant Deputy Minister of Immigration in Manitoba. The board consists of nine directors in total, with five appointed by the Minister and four licensed immigration and citizenship consultants elected by their peers. Established in 2021, the College operates at arm’s length from the government and regulates immigration and citizenship consultants, helping newcomers access quality advice while supporting efforts to combat immigration fraud in Canada. Read here.
Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) Draws – March 9–13, 2026
British Columbia held a draw under its Entrepreneur Immigration streams this week.
British Columbia – March 10, 2026
Entrepreneur Immigration – Base Stream
Invitations issued: 7
Minimum score: 117
Entrepreneur Immigration – Regional Stream
Invitations issued: Fewer than 5 candidates
Minimum score: 129
These draws targeted entrepreneurs looking to establish or invest in businesses in British Columbia.
New Caselaws:
SP & Misrep- In Boit v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 325 (CanLII), the Federal Court dismissed a judicial review of an IRCC decision refusing the applicant’s permanent residence application under the Spousal Sponsorship Class due to inadmissibility for misrepresentation. The applicant, a Kenyan citizen married to a Canadian citizen, had previously been found to have misrepresented material facts in a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application by failing to disclose the use of a paid representative. Because that earlier finding triggered a five-year inadmissibility period under section 40 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, IRCC refused the subsequent spousal sponsorship application. The Court held that the officer’s decision was reasonable and that the applicant’s arguments amounted to an improper collateral attack on the earlier misrepresentation finding, which had not been challenged through judicial review at the time. As a result, the application was dismissed and no costs were awarded. Read here.
SP & H&C- In Thalisetti v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 332 (CanLII), the Federal Court granted judicial review and set aside IRCC’s refusal of the applicant’s permanent residence application under the family class. The officer found the applicant ineligible for sponsorship because his spouse, the sponsor, had not declared him as a common-law partner when she became a permanent resident in 2020, resulting in exclusion under section 117(9)(d) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, and also found insufficient humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations. The Court held that the officer’s reasons were unreasonable because they lacked a coherent analysis supporting the conclusion that the couple had been in a conjugal relationship since 2018. The officer failed to meaningfully address evidence suggesting they were only roommates during that period, including separate bedrooms, separate finances, tax filings as single individuals, and statutory declarations from roommates. The Court also found the officer provided no justification for rejecting the H&C considerations. As a result, the decision was set aside and the matter was returned to a different officer for redetermination. Read here.
Events for Immigration Professionals:
NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE- Mississauga, ON- May 27-29th
Job Opportunities:
Immigration Lawyer- Mandall Immigraiton Law- $70,000 to $120,000 CAD- Toronto, ON
Immigration Lawyer- Borderpass- Compensation not stated- Toronto, ON
International Student Advisor- University Canada West- $60,000 to $70,000 CAD- Vancouver, BC
International Student Advisor- UBC-$7,283.75 - $10,474.08 CAD Monthly
Updates with Bee The Va:
Service Spotlight: Administrative Support for Immigration Firms
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👉 Learn more or book a consultation today:
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Let’s streamline your operations so you can focus on growing your practice.
— Behnoush Shafiei
Founder, Bee the VA
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