Canada's Immigration department has said that "permanent resident applicants" with common Sikh surnames Singh and Kaur are not required to change them.
TORONTO: Reversing a standing policy, Canada's Immigration department has said that "permanent resident applicants" with common Sikh surnames Singh and Kaur are not required to change them.
Immigrants with the two surnames were earlier needed to change them leading to delay in their arrival in the country.
"It has been brought to my attention that a letter was sent to an applicant (in India) telling him that unless he provided an additional surname in addition to other documentation, his application for permanent residence may not be processed," Diane Finley, minister of citizenship and immigration said in a statement.
"This letter does not reflect the policy of Canada's government, and I can assure you I have directed the department to ensure that this type of erroneous letter is not sent out again."
The controversy erupted after an Indian Tarvinder Kaur, who is pregnant, said her husband Jaspal Singh's application to become a permanent resident has been delayed for well over a month because of his last name.
The Canadian High Commission in India had sent a letter to Singh's family.
Terming the letter to be "poorly worded", an immigration official here said, "Permanent resident applicants with the surnames Singh or Kaur are not required to change their names in order to apply.
Blaming the government, prominent Barrister Lex Lasry, a Queen's Counsel, said that bungles in the case against Dr Haneef were caused by political pressure in an election year.
He also advised the politicians to stay out of such cases.
"I think there were pressures probably on the offices of DPP and to some extent on the Australian Federal Police (AFP), probably resulting in converting whatever suspicion there was into a charge which was not supported by any evidence," he was quoted by 'ABC News' portal.
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