Practice area
Immigration, Refugee & Citizenship
An immigration file is not a stack of forms.
Overview
The forms are the easy part
The hard part is working out what the form needs to say about a person’s life, and then proving it.
Someone has lived in four countries. Documents are in three languages, and two of them don’t match. There’s a gap in the address history that no one can explain. A previous application was refused, and no one ever stated exactly why. The birth certificate cannot be obtained because the office that issued it no longer exists.
Those details decide the files. We represent individuals and families in Canadian immigration, refugee and citizenship matters. Saeeq Shajjan is a lawyer in good standing with the Law Society of Ontario and is therefore authorized to represent clients before IRCC.
Family sponsorship
- Spousal sponsorship
- Common-law and conjugal partner sponsorship
- Dependent children
- Parents and grandparents
- Relationship evidence and how to build it
- Responses to requests for more information
- Problems that come up mid-processing
Spousal files turn on evidence of the relationship, and the evidence people instinctively gather is often not the evidence that helps. That’s worth a conversation before you file.
Temporary residence
- Visitor visas
- Study permits
- Work permits
- Extensions
- Restoration of status
- Dual intent issues
Permanent residence
We help you determine which pathway you qualify for — not the one you read about — prepare the application, and handle documentation or admissibility issues as they arise.
Refugee protection
A refugee claim is decided largely on credibility, and credibility is assessed largely by the consistency among what you said at the port of entry, what’s in the Basis of Claim, and what you say at the hearing.
- Assessing the claim honestly at the outset
- Preparing and reviewing the Basis of Claim
- Documentary and identity evidence
- Country condition evidence
- Disclosure
- Hearing preparation, including the parts people find hardest to talk about
- Representation before the Refugee Protection Division
- Post-hearing matters
- Advice on available appeals or judicial review
For Afghan claimants in particular, the country evidence and the documents present a specific set of problems, and it’s one this office knows from the inside.
Citizenship
Applications, physical presence calculations, travel and address history, supporting documents, requests from IRCC, and complications that arise when a file remains in processing longer than it should.
Humanitarian and compassionate applications
When no other route is available, an H&C application asks the officer to consider the whole situation: establishment in Canada, the best interests of any children, and the hardship of return. These are discretionary factors; they aren’t quick, and they need to be argued, not merely filed.
Worth reading first
All insightsGeneral information only, not legal advice. For advice about your situation, book a consultation.
Practice areas
Other ways we can help
Book a consultation
Talk to us about your immigration matter.
Tell us briefly what is happening. We will check for conflicts and respond promptly.
- shajjan@shajjanlaw.ca
- Consultations by appointment, in person or by video.