Glossary of CIC
Note: The purpose of these definitions is to help people understand the terms we use on this website. They are not intended to be legal definitions, and should not be treated as such.
- Academic program
- A post-secondary program that awards an academic degree, diploma or professional certification. This program is often delivered at universities, colleges, seminaries and institutes of technology.
- Accompanying family member
- A spouse, common-law partner, dependent child or dependent child of a dependent child (grandchild), who plans to immigrate to Canada with the principal applicant. Accompanying family members are included on the application.
- Address
- An address is the place where a person is living right now. It can be identified by such things as a street number, street name, apartment number, city, town, province/state and country.For example: A student from Mexico studying in Canada should enter the address where he or she is living in Canada.
- Adequate knowledge of Canada
- The Citizenship test will evaluate your knowledge of Canada. During the written exam and the interview, you will be asked questions about:
- the right to vote and right to run for elected office
- elections procedures
- the rights and responsibilities of a citizen
- Canadian social and cultural history and symbols
- Canadian political history (including the political system and institutions)
- Canadian physical and political geography
- Adequate knowledge of language
- In order to become a Canadian citizen, the Citizenship Act requires new citizens to have an “adequate knowledge” of English or French, Canada’s two official languages. In general, “adequate knowledge” means you can understand someone speaking English or French and they can understand you. (Read a more detailed explanation of “adequate knowledge.”) We measure how well you can communicateusing the Canadian Language Benchmarks (CLB)/Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadien (NCLC).
- Admissibility
- See Inadmissibility.
- Adoption
- A process whereby a person becomes a member of another family. This process must create a genuine parent-child relationship that permanently severs the legal ties to the child’s biological parents or guardians.
- Affidavit
- A document becomes an affidavit when a person signs the document, in the presence of an authorized person, after taking an oath that what the document says is true and accurate.An affidavit is often used in order to verify that a translation of a document accurately reflects what is stated in the original language of the document.
- Age
- When referring to the age of a permanent or temporary resident in CIC’s statistical information:
- for permanent residents, their age at landing and
- for temporary residents, their age at entry or on December 1.
- Annulment
- A declaration that a marriage is not valid. Grounds for annulment in Canada include any case when one or both parties were not in a position to legally marry.
- Applicant
- A person who submits an application under any of CIC’s business lines.
- Application kit
- See Application package.
- Application for Leave and Judicial Review
- An individual who has received a decision from CIC, and who thinks that an error was made in that decision, can generally apply to the Federal Court of Canada and ask that the Court review the decision. Making an application to the Court for a review of the decision is called an Application for Leave and Judicial Review. A review means that the Court will read the decision and decide whether an error was made or not. If the Court decides that CIC made an error, it will usually mean that CIC has to make a new decision. For more information on this process, see Apply to the Federal Court of Canada for judicial review.
- Application package
- A package including all forms, supporting documents and information needed to fill out applications for visas, permanent residence and citizenship. It is sometimes referred to as an “application kit.”
- Arranged employment
- Arranged employment is when you have a permanent job offer from a Canadian employer that has been approved by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. This job offer can improve your chances of having a federal skilled worker application approved.
- Application Support Centre (ASC)
- ASCs provide biometric collection services for Canadian temporary resident visa applicants in the United States. ASCs do not accept immigrant or temporary resident applications and cannot provide information or application handling services. Find your closest ASC.
- Assessment
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- The identification and measurement of learning, credentials, and other forms of qualifications required for entry into programs of study or occupations (assessment may include testing, examinations, or other prescribed activities).
- A process that measures knowledge, skills and aptitudes.
- Assessment tools
- Refers to guidelines used by citizenship judges for evaluating a person’s English or French proficiency to help determine if someone meets citizenship language requirements.
- Asylum
- Protection that is offered to persons with a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, as well as those at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
- A person, paid or unpaid, named by an applicant and authorized to:
- receive information about an application, and
- act on the applicant’s behalf.
See Immigration consultant, Representative.
- Background check
- A procedure to verify the medical, criminal and/or security background of visa applicants to ensure they are admissible to Canada.See Police certificate, Medical examination.
- Biometric Instruction Letter
- If you need to give your biometrics, CIC sends a biometric instruction letter to you either by mail or through your MyCIC account when you apply. You must bring a paper copy of this letter with you to a visa application centre (VAC) or application support centre (ASC) when you go in person to give your biometrics. The letter contains bar codes that must be scanned by the VAC or ASC before you can give your biometrics. Examples of the types of bar codes in a biometric instruction letter:
- Border services officer
- Officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), a federal government agency, who have the legal authority to decide who can enter and remain in Canada. These officers have many of the same powers as police officers, including the right to conduct searches, make arrests, and seize documents or goods.
- Bridging program
- A program that helps trained workers address the gap between the knowledge and experience they have and what they need to work in their preferred job or field.
- British subject status
- Before 1947, people born or naturalized in Canada had the status of British subjects. British subject status is relevant in determining Canadian citizenship under the 1947Canadian Citizenship Act.See Naturalization.
- Business
- A private sector enterprise engaged in the pursuit of profit.
- Business class
- A category that includes investors, entrepreneurs and self-employed people. A person may become a permanent resident in this category based on his or her ability to economically establish in Canada.The applicant’s spouse or common-law partner, and the applicant’s dependent children, are also included in this category.
- Business experience
- Business experience is a term used when applying to immigrate as an entrepreneur to describe:
- at least two one-year periods of experience in the period from five years before the application date to the day a decision is made on the application.
Experience must have to do with:
