Steven Meurrens* | Larlee Rosenberg, Barristers & Solicitors

Steven is a Vancouver based Canadian immigration lawyer who advises clients on all Canadian immigration and citizenship issues. He has significant experience representing corporate and individual clients in obtaining visas and permits for many business-related purposes, including, but not limited to, Labour Market Impact Assessments, intracompany transfers, international trade agreements, speciality business visits, and transitioning from temporary to permanent resident under numerous federal economic streams. His corporate clients include businesses engaged in mining, telecommunications, construction, hospitality, and technology start-ups.

In addition to his business immigration practice, Steven has extensive experience in family-based immigration matters. He also has an active practice assisting people who have been denied entry to Canada and to those whom have had visa applications refused. He has appeared before the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court.

Steven is the past-Chair of the Canadian Bar Association of British Columbia’s Immigration Subsection. He is a published columnist, a regular panelist at immigration law conferences, an instructor at the University of British Columbia’s Certificate in Immigration Laws, Policies and Procedures, the author of a very widely read blog on Canadian immigration law and the creator of an immigration podcast.

Counsel to several successful Vancouver technology start-ups on all immigration matters, including obtaining work permits for key staff, the effects of mergers & acquisitions, and obtaining bulk Labour Market Impact Assessments for highly skilled and difficult to fill positions.
Represents several foreign construction and mining companies relocate workers to Canada, often on an expedited basis, to fulfill time-sensitive contracts, as well as obtaining work permits and visitor records for several key executives so that they can pass through Canadian customs with ease.
Advising numerous religious organizations in transitioning their religious workers to permanent resident status.
Represented several individuals in successfully overturning visa refusals at Federal Court, including on matters pertaining to whether the applicant met program eligibility, procedural fairness, and national security.
Successfully assisted several families normalize the status of family members who had been in Canada without status for several years.

Moderated a panel at the Canadian Bar Association’s 2022 National Immigration Law Conference on port of entry matters
Presented at the CBABC’s 2022 Immigration Law conference on Express Entry
Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Immigration Issues in Depth on the top Federal Court decisions of the year
Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Working Your Way into Canada seminar on authorization to work without a work permit
Spoke at CAPIC’s National Citizenship and Immigration Conference on employer compliance
Presented at IMMSeminars on “Employer Compliance”, June 6, 2019
“Update on Case Law Related to the Immigration Appeal Division,” Presenter, Ashton College Continuing Professional Development, September 22, 2018
“Cannabis Act Stricter Driving Rules can Impact Immigrants,” The Canadian Immigrant, August 2018
“One-Third of Study Permit Applications are Refused,” The Canadian Immigrant, July 2018
“Promotions can Impact a Temporary Foreign Worker’s Immigration Prospects,” The Canadian Immigrant, June 2018
“Lonely? Sponsor a Relative to Immigrate,” The Canadian Immigrant, May 2018
“Reducing Corporate Risk: Best Practices in Immigration Compliance Inspections,” Canadian Employment Relocation Council Immigration Symposium, Vancouver, February 26, 2018
“The BC PNP or the Global Talent Stream” Panelist, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February, 2018
“Visiting Canada? How to Fill Out a Successful Temporary Visa Application,” The Canadian Immigrant, December 2017
“How to Prove You’re In a Common-Law Relationship for Canadian Immigration Application,” The Canadian Immigrant, December 2017
“Addressing Concerns About Marriage Fraud,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, November 9, 2017
“Employer Compliance: How to Respond to an Audit,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, October 13, 2017
“Working Without a Work Permit: What Jobs Can a Visitor Do In Canada,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, August 2017
“New Global Skills Strategy Means Faster Processing but more Compliance for Certain Work Permits,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2017
“Don’t Misrepresent: Honesty is the Best Policy When Filling Out Applications,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2017
“What Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers Need to Know about the Program’s Strict Conditions,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2017
“Immigration in Canada under McCallum: a Review,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2017
“Lost your status? How to restore your expired visa or permit,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, October 2016
“How to Help International Students Stay in Canada,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 12, 201
Co-Chair, Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Conference, Vancouver, May 2016
“Providing a right of appeal to medically inadmissible immigrants,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, April 7, 2016
“Five reasons an Express Entry application might get bounced for incompleteness,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2016
“Liberal immigration plan to welcome 300,000, with increased focus on family reunification, less on economic immigrants,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2016
“Permanent Residency for Students,” The University of Victoria, March 2, 2016
“Analyzing the Liberal changes to Canada’s citizenship act,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, February 29, 2016
“The complexities of the post-graduate work permit for international students,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2016
“Let’s abolish PR cards and implement a residency obligation amnesty,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, February 1, 2016
“Temporary Residency,” Guest Lecturer, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law – Immigration Law – LAW 377.991, February 2, 2016
“Supreme Court of Canada expands humanitarian and compassionate grounds,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, January 2016
“It is time to end Canada’s visa requirement for Mexican citizens,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, December 17, 2015
“The good, the bad … and the barbaric: a review of outgoing Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s legacy, and what’s to come,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2015
“Business Visitors,” Panelist, “Working Your Way into Canada,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, October 23, 2015
“Immigration Detainees Granted Access to Habeas Corpus,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, October 21, 2015
“Immigration after the Conservative Transformation,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, October 16, 2015
“The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program After Alan Kurdi,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 25, 2015
“How to Analyze Campaign Promises Regarding Immigration Programs,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 21, 2015
“Same-sex sponsorship: apply as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2015
“Application refused? What CIC states in refusal letters is not the whole story,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2015
“Program fail? Where are the applications for the investor immigration stream?” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2015
“Natural Justice, Administrative Law and the Federal Court” IMEDA, Vancouver, March, 2015
“Permanent Residency for Students” The University of Victoria, March 2, 2015
“The Five Ws of Express Entry,” Guest Lecturer, The University of British Columbia Continuing Studies, Vancouver, March, 2015
Canadian Bar Association – British Columbia Branch Annual Immigration Law Conference, Moderator and Co-Chair, February 27, 2015
“Consequences of Recent Changes to Live-in Caregiver Program” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2014
“Are Options for International Students to Immigrate Permanently Narrowing?” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2014
“The British Columbia Provincial Nomination Program,” Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants – National Education Conference, Presenter, November 2014
“Beyond Graduation: Immigration Planning for Douglas International Students” Douglas College, November 2014
“Lost in Transmission? Communicating by E-mail with CIC” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2014
“Temporary Workers Program: an Overview of the New Labour Market Impact Assessment,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2014
“Bill C-24 is now law: Canadian Citizenship is Harder to Get, Easier to Lose,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2014
“Government Commits to Initiate Proceedings Against 875 Refugee Per Year,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2014
“I Do. Now What? Family Class Applications.” Canadian Bar Association NationalImmigration Conference, Presenter, May 2014
“Implied Status: What Is It and What Changed Recently,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2014
Canadian Bar Association – British Columbia Branch Annual Immigration Law Conference, Co-Chair, February 28, 2014
“Electronic Travel Authorization System and Other Changes for Travelers to Canada,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2014
“Introducing Biometrics for Certain Foreign Nationals”, October 2013
“Advanced Labour Market Opinions,” Paper and Panelist, “Working Your Way into Canada,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, September 2013
“Federal Skilled Worker Class,” Presenter, Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants – BC Chapter AGM, Vancouver, September 2013
“Kenny’s Legacy on Immigration: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2013, August 2013
“Hiring Foreign Workers Becomes More Difficult”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2013
“Bill C-35 and Other Changes to Immigration and Post-Secondary Institutions,” Capilano College, July 2013
“Beyond the Post-Graduate Work Permit”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2013
“Federal Skilled Worker Class and Canadian Experience Class,” Paper and Panelist, Canadian Bar Association Immigration Section Annual Conference, Montreal, May 2013
“Moving to Canada: What Exactly is the New Federal Skilled Trades Program?”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2013
“Sponsorship Bar and Conditional Permanent Residency In Effect”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2013
“The BC PNP,” Moderator, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February 2013
“Renewing Your Temporary Resident Visa from Within Canada”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2012
“Compliant Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers Being Rewarded with Accelerated Labour Market Opinions”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, October 2012
“What Applicants Should Look out for In New Immigration Rules”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, September 2012
“Language Tests Coming to Immigration Programs Soon”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2012
“Can you Enter Canada if You Have a Criminal Conviction”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2012
“Know How to Minimize Your Tax Burden”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2012
“The Immigration Appeal Division” Moderator, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February 2012
“Understanding New Immigration Application Regulations”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2011
Author, Sponsorship Bars and Conditional Permanent Residency: Coming Soon to the Spousal Sponsorship Program?, UNB Law Journal, VOL. LXII, 2011.
“CIC brings significant changes to the temporary foreign worker program”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2011

City of Vancouver, Mayor’s Working Group on Immigration, Committee Member, Vancouver, 2014-2016
Former Director of the Vancouver Association of the Survivors of Torture, 2010-2011

Summary

EDUCATION / BAR ADMISSIONS

Bar Admission, British Columbia, 2010
JD, University of Toronto, 2009
B.A., University of British Columbia, 2006

PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT

Member, Law Society of British Columbia
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Member, Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia, Immigration Section
- Chair (2015 – 2017)
- Vice-Chair (2013 – 2015)
- Secretary (2011-2013)
- Chair, BC Provincial Nominee Sub-Committee (2011 – 2013)

Community Involvement

City of Vancouver, Mayor’s Working Group on Immigration, Committee Member, Vancouver, 2014-2016
Former Director of the Vancouver Association of the Survivors of Torture, 2010-2011

Representative Work

Counsel to several successful Vancouver technology start-ups on all immigration matters, including obtaining work permits for key staff, the effects of mergers & acquisitions, and obtaining bulk Labour Market Impact Assessments for highly skilled and difficult to fill positions.
Represents several foreign construction and mining companies relocate workers to Canada, often on an expedited basis, to fulfill time-sensitive contracts, as well as obtaining work permits and visitor records for several key executives so that they can pass through Canadian customs with ease.
Advising numerous religious organizations in transitioning their religious workers to permanent resident status.
Represented several individuals in successfully overturning visa refusals at Federal Court, including on matters pertaining to whether the applicant met program eligibility, procedural fairness, and national security.
Successfully assisted several families normalize the status of family members who had been in Canada without status for several years.

Publications/Presentations

Moderated a panel at the Canadian Bar Association’s 2022 National Immigration Law Conference on port of entry matters
Presented at the CBABC’s 2022 Immigration Law conference on Express Entry
Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Immigration Issues in Depth on the top Federal Court decisions of the year
Spoke at CLEBC’s 2021 Working Your Way into Canada seminar on authorization to work without a work permit
Spoke at CAPIC’s National Citizenship and Immigration Conference on employer compliance
Presented at IMMSeminars on “Employer Compliance”, June 6, 2019
“Update on Case Law Related to the Immigration Appeal Division,” Presenter, Ashton College Continuing Professional Development, September 22, 2018
“Cannabis Act Stricter Driving Rules can Impact Immigrants,” The Canadian Immigrant, August 2018
“One-Third of Study Permit Applications are Refused,” The Canadian Immigrant, July 2018
“Promotions can Impact a Temporary Foreign Worker’s Immigration Prospects,” The Canadian Immigrant, June 2018
“Lonely? Sponsor a Relative to Immigrate,” The Canadian Immigrant, May 2018
“Reducing Corporate Risk: Best Practices in Immigration Compliance Inspections,” Canadian Employment Relocation Council Immigration Symposium, Vancouver, February 26, 2018
“The BC PNP or the Global Talent Stream” Panelist, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February, 2018
“Visiting Canada? How to Fill Out a Successful Temporary Visa Application,” The Canadian Immigrant, December 2017
“How to Prove You’re In a Common-Law Relationship for Canadian Immigration Application,” The Canadian Immigrant, December 2017
“Addressing Concerns About Marriage Fraud,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, November 9, 2017
“Employer Compliance: How to Respond to an Audit,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, October 13, 2017
“Working Without a Work Permit: What Jobs Can a Visitor Do In Canada,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, August 2017
“New Global Skills Strategy Means Faster Processing but more Compliance for Certain Work Permits,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2017
“Don’t Misrepresent: Honesty is the Best Policy When Filling Out Applications,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2017
“What Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers Need to Know about the Program’s Strict Conditions,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2017
“Immigration in Canada under McCallum: a Review,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2017
“Lost your status? How to restore your expired visa or permit,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, October 2016
“How to Help International Students Stay in Canada,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 12, 201
Co-Chair, Canadian Bar Association National Immigration Conference, Vancouver, May 2016
“Providing a right of appeal to medically inadmissible immigrants,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, April 7, 2016
“Five reasons an Express Entry application might get bounced for incompleteness,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2016
“Liberal immigration plan to welcome 300,000, with increased focus on family reunification, less on economic immigrants,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2016
“Permanent Residency for Students,” The University of Victoria, March 2, 2016
“Analyzing the Liberal changes to Canada’s citizenship act,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, February 29, 2016
“The complexities of the post-graduate work permit for international students,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2016
“Let’s abolish PR cards and implement a residency obligation amnesty,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, February 1, 2016
“Temporary Residency,” Guest Lecturer, University of British Columbia Faculty of Law – Immigration Law – LAW 377.991, February 2, 2016
“Supreme Court of Canada expands humanitarian and compassionate grounds,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, January 2016
“It is time to end Canada’s visa requirement for Mexican citizens,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, December 17, 2015
“The good, the bad … and the barbaric: a review of outgoing Immigration Minister Chris Alexander’s legacy, and what’s to come,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2015
“Business Visitors,” Panelist, “Working Your Way into Canada,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, October 23, 2015
“Immigration Detainees Granted Access to Habeas Corpus,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, October 21, 2015
“Immigration after the Conservative Transformation,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, October 16, 2015
“The Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program After Alan Kurdi,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 25, 2015
“How to Analyze Campaign Promises Regarding Immigration Programs,” The Institute for Research on Public Policy – Policy Options, September 21, 2015
“Same-sex sponsorship: apply as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2015
“Application refused? What CIC states in refusal letters is not the whole story,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2015
“Program fail? Where are the applications for the investor immigration stream?” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2015
“Natural Justice, Administrative Law and the Federal Court” IMEDA, Vancouver, March, 2015
“Permanent Residency for Students” The University of Victoria, March 2, 2015
“The Five Ws of Express Entry,” Guest Lecturer, The University of British Columbia Continuing Studies, Vancouver, March, 2015
Canadian Bar Association – British Columbia Branch Annual Immigration Law Conference, Moderator and Co-Chair, February 27, 2015
“Consequences of Recent Changes to Live-in Caregiver Program” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2014
“Are Options for International Students to Immigrate Permanently Narrowing?” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2014
“The British Columbia Provincial Nomination Program,” Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants – National Education Conference, Presenter, November 2014
“Beyond Graduation: Immigration Planning for Douglas International Students” Douglas College, November 2014
“Lost in Transmission? Communicating by E-mail with CIC” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2014
“Temporary Workers Program: an Overview of the New Labour Market Impact Assessment,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2014
“Bill C-24 is now law: Canadian Citizenship is Harder to Get, Easier to Lose,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2014
“Government Commits to Initiate Proceedings Against 875 Refugee Per Year,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2014
“I Do. Now What? Family Class Applications.” Canadian Bar Association NationalImmigration Conference, Presenter, May 2014
“Implied Status: What Is It and What Changed Recently,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2014
Canadian Bar Association – British Columbia Branch Annual Immigration Law Conference, Co-Chair, February 28, 2014
“Electronic Travel Authorization System and Other Changes for Travelers to Canada,” The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2014
“Introducing Biometrics for Certain Foreign Nationals”, October 2013
“Advanced Labour Market Opinions,” Paper and Panelist, “Working Your Way into Canada,” Continuing Legal Education of British Columbia, Vancouver, September 2013
“Federal Skilled Worker Class,” Presenter, Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants – BC Chapter AGM, Vancouver, September 2013
“Kenny’s Legacy on Immigration: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2013, August 2013
“Hiring Foreign Workers Becomes More Difficult”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2013
“Bill C-35 and Other Changes to Immigration and Post-Secondary Institutions,” Capilano College, July 2013
“Beyond the Post-Graduate Work Permit”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2013
“Federal Skilled Worker Class and Canadian Experience Class,” Paper and Panelist, Canadian Bar Association Immigration Section Annual Conference, Montreal, May 2013
“Moving to Canada: What Exactly is the New Federal Skilled Trades Program?”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, March 2013
“Sponsorship Bar and Conditional Permanent Residency In Effect”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, February 2013
“The BC PNP,” Moderator, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February 2013
“Renewing Your Temporary Resident Visa from Within Canada”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, December 2012
“Compliant Employers of Temporary Foreign Workers Being Rewarded with Accelerated Labour Market Opinions”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, October 2012
“What Applicants Should Look out for In New Immigration Rules”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, September 2012
“Language Tests Coming to Immigration Programs Soon”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, June 2012
“Can you Enter Canada if You Have a Criminal Conviction”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, May 2012
“Know How to Minimize Your Tax Burden”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, April 2012
“The Immigration Appeal Division” Moderator, Canadian Bar Association (BC) Immigration Section Annual Conference, Vancouver, February 2012
“Understanding New Immigration Application Regulations”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, November 2011
Author, Sponsorship Bars and Conditional Permanent Residency: Coming Soon to the Spousal Sponsorship Program?, UNB Law Journal, VOL. LXII, 2011.
“CIC brings significant changes to the temporary foreign worker program”, The Canadian Immigrant Magazine, July 2011

EDUCATION / BAR ADMISSIONS

Bar Admission, British Columbia, 2010
JD, University of Toronto, 2009
B.A., University of British Columbia, 2006

PROFESSIONAL INVOLVEMENT

Member, Law Society of British Columbia
Member, Canadian Bar Association
Member, Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia, Immigration Section
- Chair (2015 – 2017)
- Vice-Chair (2013 – 2015)
- Secretary (2011-2013)
- Chair, BC Provincial Nominee Sub-Committee (2011 – 2013)