Canada Immigration Dual Intent

Dual Intent

The concurrent intent to be a visitor and an immigrant is referred to as dual intent. According to the Canadian Immigration Selection and Control manual which immigration officers are legally bound to adhere to, an individual who has applied for Canadian permanent residence (PR) is subject to the same requirements as others when seeking entry into Canada as a visitor. The individual should therefore possess reasonable purposes for entry and should understand that he or she must leave Canada in order to receive the immigrant visa.

The implications for this vary with an individual's place of residence. For countries where residents enjoy relatively easy flow across Canadian borders, PR applicants may utilize the ease of entry in order to better acquaint themselves with their intended destination. Those residing in regions that do not enjoy this benefit will not necessarily suffer in their PR application, however.

A non immigrant application may be more closely scrutinized in the presence of a concurrent immigration application, as there is an apparent tendency to immigrate. If the ties of the applicant to his/her home can be demonstrated, however, such an application may succeed. The presence of a non immigrant application should have no effect on an immigration application.