Date: 19980716
Docket: IMM-3135-97
BETWEEN:
KWAN CHAN,
Applicant,
- and -
THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP
AND IMMIGRATION,
Respondent.
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
CAMPBELL, J.
[1] This application for judicial review concerns a decision of a visa officer denying the Applicant's application for permanent residence.
[2] A critically important paragraph in the visa officer's affidavit sworn to explain her decision is as follows:
| 20. By letter and attachments received March 31, 1996, the Applicant's solicitor provided some documents, but they were not sufficient to establish that the Applicant was her nephew-in-law's step-aunt nor that she had ever been his guardian. Certificates of registered particulars for the Applicant and her husband and for her husband's brother were not supplied. School reports for her nephew-in-law were not provided. Income tax returns for her nephew-in-law indicated that he did not claim the Applicant as a dependent parent. The marriage certificate for her nephew-in-law indicated that the Applicant had been a witness at his wedding, but it did not indicate that she was his adopted mother. Further, in my view, the certificate from the Certified Public Accountant indicating that the Applicant had received a monthly amount of money from Systek, her nephew-in-law's company is not proof that she resided with him nor that he was her adopted son. Although I considered the statutory declaration of Yok Tan Lai regarding the relationship between Kwan Chan and Kit Hung Li, in light of the absence of corroborative evidence, I was unable to give this declaration much weight. Attached hereto and marked as Exhibit "I" to this my Affidavit is a true copy of the letter and attachments received March 31, 1997 from the Applicant's solicitor. |
[3] The declaration of Yok Tan Lai is supportive on the important issue of the Applicant being in the long-term dependence of her nephew-in-law Kit Hung Li. The decision to not give the declaration of Yok Tan Lai weight is based on the finding that there is an "absence of corroborative evidence". This finding is made without regard for the material before the visa officer and, as such, is a reviewable error..
[4] Within paragraph 20 there is acknowledgment that the Applicant had received a regular monthly maintenance payment from her nephew-in-law. Indeed, the record establishes that this payment was in the sum of $3500 HK per month for a period of 8 years preceding the filing of the permanent residence application. There is no question that this is evidence corroborating Yok Tan Lai's statements in his declaration and, indeed, is corroboration for the Applicant's assertion of dependency upon Kit Hung Li. In addition, Kit Hung Li's own uncontradicted affidavit is corroboration of the statements of Kit Hung Li.
[5] Accordingly, I set the visa officer's decision aside and refer the matter to another visa officer for redetermination, but with the direction that the redetermination include a personal interview with Kit Hung Li and Yok Tan Lai, if either or both are willing to be interviewed.
(Sgd.) "Douglas Campbell"
Judge
Vancouver, British Columbia
July 16, 1998
NAMES OF COUNSEL AND SOLICITORS OF RECORD
COURT NO.: IMM-3135-97
STYLE OF CAUSE: Kwan Chan
| v. |
| The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration |
| PLACE OF HEARING: Vancouver, BC |
REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER OF THE COURT BY:
CAMPBELL, J.
| DATED: July 16, 1998 |
APPEARANCES:
| Robert Seto for Applicant |
| Larissa Easson for Respondent |
SOLICITORS OF RECORD:
| Robert Seto for Applicant |
| Jang Cheung Lee |
| Morris Rosenberg for Respondent |
Deputy Attorney General of Canada