International Law

LICO - Low Income Cut Off

By immlawyer

Canadian citizens or permanent residents who seek to sponsor their parents (or grandparents) need to meet certain income levels. These income levels are generally ascertained by reference to the client's Notice of Assessment (Option C printout).

Given that sponsorships can take years - and the vagaries of our economic system - it is possible that LICO may not be met for one or more years. In these cases, the sponsorship can be refused by the relevant visa office. The sponsor has the ability to appeal this decision to the Immigration Appeal Division.

Luckily, it appears that the CBSA Hearings and Appeals Unit are amenable to consent on such matters as long as the requirements under the IAD case Jugpall are met. Even if the Minister is not wiling, the IAD can allow the appeal based on all the circumstances of the case (including humanitarian and compassionate considerations). The IAD however may not be an attractive option however because of the current timelines - an appeal on a sponsorship refusal can take as long as a year or more to resolve.

I've had a number of these cases (in one case, the visa office has refused on failure to meet LICO, even though there was no indication that the sponsor's income had in fact failed to meet LICO in any of the relevant years) and thankfully the CBSA has consented to the appeal on all of them.

Full post as published by Canadian Immigration Blawg on June 26, 2009 (boomark / email).