IMMIGRATION & Mortgage
10
The Notary
Corner
By Editha Corrales Nelson
Immigration Consultant, Notary
Public, Mediation / Arbitrator
You may need a criminal and
security check (police certificate) if
you are coming to Canada as a:
• live-in caregiver,
• tourist,
• student or
• temporary worker.
When you apply to become a
permanent resident, you must get a
police certificate.
HOW TO GET A POLICE
CERTIFICATE (POLICE CHECK)
When you apply to become a
permanent resident or a Canadian
citizen, you and your family members
must include a police certificate. If
you are applying as a visitor, student
or temporary worker, a visa office may
also ask you for a certificate.
WHAT
IS
A
POLICE
CERTIFICATE?
A police certificate is a copy of
your criminal record or a statement
that you do not have a criminal record.
Police certificates are different in each
country and territory. They may be
Real Estate
MYLENE LIM
Licensed Mortgage Specialist
Whether you’re a speculator or
not, all homeowners in the largest
urban areas of BC will have to apply
for exemption from the province’s
new speculation tax. Areas subject
to the speculation tax are Greater
Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna and Metro
Vancouver including Abbotsford,
Mission and Chilliwack (excluding
Bowen Island and Lions Bay).
It is the responsibility of all
homeowners to apply for exemption
from getting taxed before the
deadline on March 31st, 2019. If
there are multiple owners of a home,
a declaration must be completed by
each owner, including spouses. Those
who do not qualify for exemption,
or do not apply, will be sent tax bills
due to be paid by July 2nd, 2019.
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY January 16 - 31, 2019
POLICE CERTIFICATES (POLICE CHECKS)
called:
police
clearance
•
certificates,
good
conduct
•
certificates,
• judicial record extracts or
• other names.
WHO NEEDS A POLICE
CERTIFICATE?
In general, you and all the
people in your family who are 18 or
older need to get a police certificate.
You must get one from each country
or territory where you have lived for
six or more months in a row since the
age of 18. (For example, if you lived in
a country for eight months but left on
a two-week vacation, that counts as
living there for eight months.)
For the country you currently
live in, the police certificate must
be issued no more than six months
before you apply.
For countries where you have
lived for six months or more, the
police certificate must be issued after
the last time you lived in that country.
If your certificate is in a language
other than English or French, send
it when you apply, along with the
original copy of a translation done by
a certified translator.
HOW DO I GET ONE?
In most cases, you must contact
the police or government to ask for a
certificate. You may have to:
information
or
• provide
documents, such as photographs,
fingerprints, or your addresses and
dates that you lived in the country or
territory, and
• pay a fee.
Use our online tool to find
out how and where to get a police
certificate in the country where you
live. If contact information is not
available there, contact the national
police agency, or your country or
territory’s embassy or consulate in
Canada.
If you lived in a country that
has changed its name or status, the
police certificate should come from
the current national authorities of
that country. If you are not able to
get a police certificate from a country
because you are a refugee from that
country or for any other reason, please
explain the reasons in writing.
CIC will also do background
checks anywhere you and your family
members have lived. These checks
will show if you have had any arrests
or convictions, or if you are a security
risk to Canada
** Strictly taken from cic
website
Canadian
Certified
A
Immigration Consultant, Certified
Senior Advisor and a Notary Public in
the City of Burnaby, Editha Corrales
Nelson’s preferred areas of practice are
Powers of Attorney, Wills Preparation,
International
Legal
Documents,
Name Changes, Affidavits, Letters
of Invitation, Statutory Declarations,
Drafting of Business Contracts
and other notarial services. For an
appointment, please call: 604-777-
2757.
The following should not be
construed as providing legal advice
and information in this column is
intended only as a general guide
and should not be applied to specific
circumstances
without
further
consultation. For more information
on the subject, contact Editha
Corrales Nelson at 604-777-2757 or
email: [email protected].
Are you affected by the B.C. Gov’t
Speculation & Vacancy Tax?
However, you may still get a rebate
within six years if you mistakenly
pay the speculation tax.
The Ministry of Finance
announced that they would start
mailing the speculation and vacancy
tax declaration letter by mid-February.
The Ministry said the imposition of
speculation tax on speculators and
empty homes may discourage real
estate speculation and thereby make
housing more affordable. The new
tax which was announced in the
February 2018 budget was described
as a way to encourage owners of
empty residences to put their houses
up for sell or rent out, especially in
areas where the shortage of housing
is most felt. Although the aim was
to target out-of-province real estate
speculators, it has been revealed that
although 99% of British Columbians
will be exempt from the tax, an
estimated two-thirds of those who will
be paying will be British Columbians.
The tax rate is 0.5% of a home’s
assessed value in 2018, that will be
$5,000 per year for a property assessed
at $1 million. This rate will go up to 2%
in 2019 for out-of-province owners,
foreigners and families where more
than 50% of income in the household
comes from outside of Canada.
Owners are exempt from paying
this tax if the property is considered
their principal residence, they rent it
out at least six months of the year,
they are disabled, the property was
just inherited, the value is below
$150,000, or the property is vacant
because the owner is away for medical
reasons, residential care, work or
spousal separation.
Strata properties (condos and
apartments) in buildings where no
rentals are allowed will be exempt
in 2018 and 2019, to give time to
the stratas to change their bylaws.
First Nations, local government,
charities, co-ops and some non-profit
organizations may be exempted from
said tax.
British Columbians with second
homes who aren’t exempted will still
get a tax credit intended to cover
the tax on the assessed value up to
$400,000, with the remaining value
of the property then taxed at the full
rate.
For more information, please
feel free to contact me:
Cel: 604 783 9097/ Email:
[email protected]/ Web:
www.MyleneLim.ca/ FB: Mylene Lim
Supporting Visible Minority Newcomer Women in Vancouver
Pilot to address multiple barriers
to success for women in Canada’s job
market
Vancouver,
BC—The
Government of Canada is committed
to ensuring that newcomers have the
support and services they need to
make the most of their talents and
experience in order to fully integrate
and contribute to the Canadian
economy and to their communities.
Newcomer women who are
members of a visible minority
group may face multiple barriers to
success, including gender- and race-
based discrimination, precarious or
low income employment, lack of
affordable childcare and weak social
supports.
Recognizing these challenges,
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
Canada (IRCC) is providing additional
funding of up to $5 million to 10
service provider organizations across
Canada over the next 2 years to
increase employment supports and
services for newcomer women.
The Immigrant Services Society
of B.C. delivers settlement services
through a women-only Community
Connections peer support group.
More broadly, this organization is
also involved in local community
capacity building initiatives, advisory
tables, and local immigration
partnerships that engage volunteer
mentors, businesses, and institutions
to enhance newcomers’ social and
economic integration and build more
welcoming communities. Additional
funding of $310,000 will support
them in serving more visible minority
newcomer women in the area.
Identifying IRCC-funded service
providers that are already offering
strong programming for women
and giving them additional funding
will provide an immediate boost in
capacity to support visible minority
newcomer women.
Today’s funding announcement
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
is part of IRCC’s 3-year Visible Minority
Newcomer Women Pilot, which also
includes establishing new partnerships
with organizations for women. In
December 2018, IRCC launched an
expression of interest process for new
partnerships with organizations for
women not currently funded by the
department. IRCC will provide up to
$7 million in funding over the next 3
years for new, innovative programs
and services to support visible
minority women in accessing the
labour market and to build capacity
in smaller organizations that serve or
are led by visible minority women.(cic.
gc.ca)