Petrus Rheeder (left) and Jenny Passaris (middle) are leaving Canada within weeks

By Tommy Osborne

Leaving Canada

IRCC responds after Prince George couple leaves Canada

Mar 25, 2025 | 4:34 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – Following a CKPG News story that one Prince George couple is leaving Canada due to difficulties getting permanent resident status, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) responded with a detailed statement.

One big concern raised by Jenny Passaris and Petrus Rheeder was concerns over how the IRCC handled their children, as both Passaris and Rheeder have children that expressed no interest in moving to Canada, but they say the government was trying to “force” their children to come to Canada and was violating their rights by demanding information from the children. In response, the IRCC said “the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), stipulates that all family members of permanent resident applicants must be examined for admissibility whether they are accompanying the principal applicant to Canada or not.”

“The examination process maintains the integrity of Canada’s immigration system,” the statement continued.

In this case, the IRCC says the application by Rheeder was returned as incomplete due to a lack of submitted police certificates of one of the non-accompanying children, and also “failed to submit evidence they made their best efforts to obtain this document.”

“Despite not accompanying, the three children must undergo medical and criminality (if 18 years of age or older) examinations in order to determine their admissibility to Canada,” the statement said.

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Rheeder and Passaris also had issues with the Comprehensive Ranking System, a points based system that determines who is or is not eligible to apply for PR status. Rheeder and Passaris say the bar has been continually raised since they arrived, making it near-impossible to achieve. The IRCC says the system “is based on empirical evidence indicating the factors that are most likely to predict success in the Canadian economy. For candidates looking to access permanent residency through Canada’s economic immigration programs, there are opportunities to improve their standing.”

The full IRCC statement is as follows:

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), stipulates that all family members of permanent resident applicants must be examined for admissibility whether they are accompanying the principal applicant to Canada or not. The examination of family members ensures that Permanent Residents are themselves not inadmissible to Canada on the bases of their relationship to an inadmissible family member, this is reflected in section 42 of the IRPA. Lastly, the examination process maintains the integrity of Canada’s immigration system. Family member is defined under section 1(3) or the IRPA.

In the case of Mr. Rheeder and his spouse, their application for permanent residence in the provincial nominee program was received by IRCC in February 2022 and returned as incomplete in March 2022, because they failed to submit a police certificate for one of their non-accompanying children, and failed to submit evidence that they made their best efforts to obtain this document. Despite not accompanying, the three children must undergo medical and criminality (if 18 years of age or older) examinations in order to determine their admissibility to Canada. Pursuant to paragraph 70(1)(e) of the IRPA, an officer shall issue a permanent resident visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible. More information for clients who are not able to get a police certificate for their immigration application can be found here: https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=035&top=4

The Express Entry system, which manages Canada’s Federal High Skilled Programs (Federal Skilled Worker Program; Canadian Experience Class; and the Federal Skilled Trades Program), as well as a portion of the Provincial Nominee Program, selects top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence.

Express Entry’s Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), which underpins the federal selection of candidates eligible for Canada’s high-skilled immigration programs, is based on empirical evidence indicating the factors that are most likely to predict success in the Canadian economy. For candidates looking to access permanent residency through Canada’s economic immigration programs, there are opportunities to improve their standing.

In addition to Express Entry, there are regional economic immigration programs that support permanent resident transitions for qualified workers at various skill levels, such as the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP), and the two new community immigration pilots – the Rural Community Immigration Pilot (RCIP) and Francophone Community Immigration Pilot (FCIP).

Individuals can consult our website to determine the programs for which they may be eligible.

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