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Deutsche Telekom is using a new investment vehicle to bring around 3,150 cell phone masts to the Dutch Cellnex subsidiary, which already has almost 1,000 cell phone masts in the Netherlands.
Bird & Bird acted as legal advisers to Cellnex Telecom on this transaction. M&A partner Pauline Vos led the Bird & Bird team. She was assisted by Marinke Moeliker (corporate/M&A), Janneke Kohlen, Mariska van de Sanden and Tialda Beetstra (antitrust), Willem Bongaerts (tax), Jeroen van der Lee and Lisette den Butter (commercial) and Feyo Sickinghe (regulatory).
The team commented: “We were delighted to assist longstanding client Cellnex Telecom on this complex cross-border transaction. We look forward to supporting the team through to completion and beyond in what is an exciting time for all involved.”
Grava & Associati assisted Unique Spazio Moda in the acquisition of Maltempi - a main player in the distribution and marketing of luxury brand products in the fashion industry. Founded in 1964, Maltempi’s tailoring laboratory has undertaken a path of rapid growth, combining the artisanal nature of its creations to the big brands of Italian fashion. Under the guidance of Michele Maltempi and his wife Daniela, since the early 2000s, Maltempi has established itself as a leading player in the marketing of luxury products in the fashion sector.
Villa Roveda e Associati assisted the selling shareholders in the acquisition of Maltempi by Unique, already a major player in the fashion market. Unique, with the acquisition of Maltempi, gives an important boost to its project of expansion and consolidation in the luxury market.
Villa Roveda e Associati assisted the sellers with a team led by partner Angela Roveda with associates Filippo De Bartolomeis, Alessandra Bissi and Velia Gallo. Partners Emiliano Villa and Giacomo Volpi were in charge of the tax and financial aspects.
Proto Labs, Inc. (NYSE: PRLB), a global technology-enabled digital manufacturing leader, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 3D Hubs, Inc. (“3D Hubs”), a leading online manufacturing platform that provides engineers with on-demand access to a global network of approximately 240 premium manufacturing partners. The transaction creates the world’s most comprehensive digital manufacturing offer for custom parts, providing Protolabs with a network of manufacturing partners to fulfil a breadth of capabilities outside of its current envelope, as well as a broader offering of pricing and lead time options. Legal advisers to Protolabs were Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP and Cooley LLP acted as legal adviser to 3D Hubs. Kennedy Van der Laan acted as local counsel for 3D Hubs in collaboration with Cooley LLP.
Chandlers Farm Equipment, which has depots across Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Bedfordshire, has now doubled the size of its operation following its acquisition of Lister Wilder’s Fendt, Massey Ferguson and Valtra ‘AGCO’ dealerships, acquiring five new depots in Warwickshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire.
Sills & Betteridge LLP were engaged as solicitors for Chandlers in this acquisition. James Conduit, head of the corporate team, led the transaction supported by Raj Blackburn who dealt with all commercial property matters. The transaction progressed against a very tight timetable with the exchange of contracts occurring around six weeks after their initial instruction. “James’ experience of corporate transactions in the agricultural machinery sector was key to understanding and negotiating the complex array of asset classes that made up the target business.”, commented the team at Sills & Betteridge LLP.
Lambadarios Law Firm advised Alpha Bank on the sale of three major real estate assets to Brooklane Capital, including a large cinema complex in the Athens Metro area. The transaction took place by means of a shares sale and purchase transaction for the transfer of 100% of the share capital of Alpha Investment Properties Attikis II A.E, a subsidiary of Alpha Bank which was the owner of the relevant three real estate assets. Our firm prepared the relevant transaction documents and supported Alpha Bank during the process of signing the share sale and purchase agreement and up until the closing of the transaction, through the completion of all formalities for the transfer of the shares of Alpha Bank in Alpha Investment Properties Attikis II A.E.
The transaction was led by managing partner Constantinos Lambadarios, partner Melina Katsimi and finance partner Prokopis Dimitriadis. Assistance by LLF real estate and bank financing team was also required.
Speaking to Constantinos Lambadarios, he said: “A challenge which came up during this particular transaction was the COVID-19 pandemic which broke out during the interim period between the signing of the shares sale and purchase agreement and the closing of the transaction. It is worth noting that although this significant and out of the ordinary event caused a delay in the completion of the transaction, at the end it did not affect closing.”
Eternis Fine Chemicals Ltd, (Eternis) a leading Indian producer and exporter of aroma chemicals, announced that it has completed an acquisition of 100% shareholding of Tennants Fine Chemicals Ltd (Tennants Fine Chemicals), headquartered at Leek, Staffordshire in the United Kingdom and its wholly-owned subsidiaries in Singapore and China, from Tennants Consolidated Limited.
As a result of this transaction, Eternis and Tennants Fine Chemicals expand and complement the range of aroma chemicals offered to customers, whilst leveraging the multi-location manufacturing and distribution platforms to better service our customers regionally and de-risk our supply chain.
“As we step into 2021, I speak on behalf of the team at Eternis in expressing my excitement with this significant step of successfully completing our first overseas acquisition in our growth journey”, says Mr Rajen Mariwala, Managing Director of Eternis.
An Interview With John-George Willis Corporate Consultant at Tughans Solicitors
Please share your involvement in the deal.
Tughans acted as sole legal adviser to Tennants Consolidated Limited on the disposal of Tennants Fine Chemicals Limited working with a team at Tennants Consolidated Limited led by Michael Hughes.
What challenges did you come across when working on this deal and how did you overcome them?
The deal kicked off a couple of months into the global pandemic and we found ourselves leading the legal aspects of the sale of a large chemicals business headquartered in Leek, Staffordshire with subsidiary businesses in Singapore and China to an Indian buyer. The buyer Eternis of India was legally represented by a team at DSK India led by Aparajit Bhattacharya, assisted by Rajah & Tann, Singapore on Singapore law and Simmons & Simmons, London on English law. A Lincoln International team in London led by Phil McCreanor provided corporate finance advice to Eternis. Just about everyone on the deal in all the jurisdictions involved was working both remotely and within each other’s time zones. Not one physical meeting took place. Despite this, the transaction proceeded at pace and was well coordinated on both sides. Everyone showed a real appetite to get it over the line despite all the challenges brought on by the pandemic.
When working on acquisitions that are globally dispersed, how do you ensure that distance has no impact on the work that needs to be completed? Are there any added stages for clients here that you assist with?
In this case, the parties involved were based in Mumbai, Delhi, China, Singapore, London and Belfast. Distance was not a problem – we were all working remotely and speaking with each other by video conferencing when required. Even different time zones did not present a challenge – everyone was willing to work at very unsocial hours with an attitude that whatever needed to be done to get the deal over the line, we will do it.
After an intensive international bidding process with a time horizon of fewer than two months, Eisele Pneumatics GmbH & Co. KG, a German specialist in quality connection components, together with its US subsidiary Eisele Connectors Inc. was sold to the Austrian HENN Group, a company active in the field of connection technology.
The takeover of the Waiblingen-based family company Eisele by the family company HENN from Dornbirn ensures the future viability of Eisele and thus the majority of jobs. Due to the acquisition, the operational business of Eisele, as well as the location in Waiblingen, will be maintained. The highly specialised know-how of the employees could be retained for the future and combined with the expertise of the investor who is active in a complementary area. The company will be much more stable in the future and will be able to cover a large part of the value chain itself.
Wintergerst Societät für Unternehmer-Beratung was exclusively mandated to advise the sale of Eisele Pneumatics to the HENN Group.
An Interview With Mr. Volker Wintergerst Managing Partner at Wintergerst Societät für Unternehmer-Beratung
You addressed both national and international buyers – how do their demands differ, depending on jurisdiction?
Since the transaction schedule is the same for national and international buyers, the timeline is usually more ambitious for international buyers because they need to consider the legislation of two countries, i.e. Germany and their own, simultaneously. Hence, international buyers have a higher demand for advisory services by nature and therefore, it is not uncommon that they employ advisers in their home country and in Germany when they participate in a cross-border M&A process. Regarding Eisele, we also faced non-German speaking investors and the communication took place primarily between their advisers from Germany and us. In order to enable these investors to understand the relevant facts and make decisions, it was also necessary to translate all documents and essential information into English.
What do you look for, as an adviser, when seeking a suitable partner for both companies?
Since every company and the surrounding facts and circumstances are unique, the requirements regarding a suitable partner can differ from one project to another. Nevertheless, we generally look for partners that on the one hand present a comprehensive and sustainable concept for the target that provides the best overall solution for the future of the business, the employees and all other stakeholders. On the other hand, we require investors to ensure transaction safety, i.e. the ability to close the deal from a financial, as well as a timing perspective. These aspects are especially important in distressed M&A processes with a tight time schedule as was the case for Eisele.
There was an ambitious timeline of fewer than two months for this transaction; how did you ensure everything was complete up to standard despite the timeframe?
Since Eisele had generated negative results in the past, we first had to show potential investors how the company can achieve stable earnings again in the future and develop growth potential. This was the prerequisite for Eisele to be able to transact. In addition, there is always a limited period of time to complete an M&A process with respect to a distressed company. Hence, speed and experience are the key factors for success. Regarding Eisele, the timeline was very ambitious but a trusting working relationship could be found very fast with the family entrepreneur Martin Ohneberg from the HENN Group. Also, with its experience and focused knowledge in the areas of M&A, due diligence and restructuring, our team was able to make a valuable contribution to the success of the transaction.
Founded in 1951, Sekura is a rapidly growing multiline insurance, surety and affinity brokerage firm serving more than 550 corporate clients throughout Mexico. As part of this transaction, Arpa Capital and non-executive shareholders exited from the ownership of Sekura.
“This alliance with Australis Partners is a landmark in Sekura’s history. It’s the next step in our success story to position Sekura as leader in the insurance, sureties and affinity market. Australis Partners’ leadership and experience in Latin America will further contribute to expand our customer base and improve corporate practices to create sustainable economic value for our shareholders. Finding a supporting partner who shares our values and vision is paramount for Sekura’s strategy and success.” said Gonzalo Mancera Corcuera, CEO of Sekura.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
An Interview With Rafael Sámano, Partner at Samano Abogados, S.C.
What are your top concerns when legally advising a company that wants to acquire a majority stake?
A comprehensive and thorough Due Diligence is critical. A fundamental element for the success of any acquisition is the appropriate identification of the risk factors and challenges that the transaction presents going forward, for the acquirer to be able to adequately structure a business plan and correctly addressed these issues. In this respect, our work focuses on deep digging to unearth any reds flag which might present a material liability, as well as in mapping the underlying risks and items of attention of the deal.
How do you work through these concerns to ensure the move is a wise one for your client?
We act as a legal forensic expert. We approach the review of the information contained in the data room as pieces in a complex puzzle that need to be put together to view the whole picture. First, we strive to understand the business; then we map its critical elements; then its history and movements; and finally we look into its components. This methodology allows us to identify skewed and missing pieces.
When are independent investment firms ready to expand and acquire another company? How do you assist?
Investment firms search for returns on investment within the jurisdictions, sectors and markets in which they operate. There is always value to be found. We support those efforts by presenting them with the legal, regulatory and local risk factors which might weigh-in on their assessments. We also team up with other professionals, like tax & accounting firms, investment bankers, and financial advisors to coordinate efforts to reach a satisfactory conclusion of the deal (or not) within the timeframe and the proper negotiation scope, without stressing the business relationship.
Migration has always made substantial contributions to Australia’s culture and economy; what impact have the travel restrictions had on our culture and economy?
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (‘the OECD’) has highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on immigrants and global mobility, which has been detrimental to Australia’s culture and economy overall. The COVID-19 response and travel restrictions imposed in Australia have prompted the net overseas migration to drastically fall in the 2020-2021 financial year and it is set to enter ‘negative levels’ for the first time this century.[1] This development is unsurprising when considering the limited number of exemption categories which permit a person to enter Australia amid the current travel restrictions, as well as the substantial number of persons who chose, or were forced, to depart Australia since the onset of the pandemic.
Due to the high correlation between the overseas migration intake and population growth in Australia, the plummet in overseas migration will have a significant impact on Australia’s economy and GDP growth.[2]
The travel restrictions have also had an immediate effect on families, who have been unable to secure exemptions to reunite during this period, along with international students who have largely been unable to return to study in Australia. This loss of international students has majorly impacted Australia’s tertiary education sector, along with the associated employment opportunities for Australian citizens and permanent residents.
How does the Australian government plan on addressing this impact?
We have observed the formation of the ‘Trans-Tasman Bubble’ safe travel zone between Australia and New Zealand, which has involved the relaxation of COVID-19 border restrictions and quarantine requirements. A myriad of other exemptions and concessions have been introduced by the Department of Home Affairs for both onshore and offshore migrants. These exemptions and concessions aim to minimise COVID-19 related disruptions and promote the travel of family members of Australian Citizens and Permanent Residents, Business Investors and Skilled Migrants working in ‘critical sectors’.[3]
The Department of Home Affairs has also introduced concessions that provide visa applicants with additional time to complete the necessary requirements for their pending visa applications—including recently introducing a waiver of the requirement for certain applicants to be offshore at the time of their visa grant. Migrants currently can also apply for travel exemptions to enter Australia based on ‘compelling and compassionate’ circumstances if they do not meet any prescribed exemption categories but imminently need to travel to Australia.
The COVID-19 response and travel restrictions imposed in Australia have prompted the net overseas migration to drastically fall in the 2020-2021 financial year and it is set to enter ‘negative levels’ for the first time this century.
The program will continue to have a strong focus on attracting the best and brightest migrants from around the world. What aspects of the plan are appealing for those looking to immigrate?
A major success for the Skilled Migration program to attract the ‘best and brightest migrants’ in the 2019 to 2020 financial year was the Global Talent Independent Visa (GTI), which fulfilled the 5,000 places the program was allocated. Due to this success, the Australian Government has allocated a significant 15,000 places to GTI applicants in the 2020 to 2021 financial year.
To be granted a visa under the GTI Program, a candidate will need to be highly skilled in one of the ten target sectors. They will also be able to attract a salary that meets the high-income threshold which is currently set at $153,600.00AUD, that is subject to yearly changes.
Target sectors include the following:
There are a range of benefits to those high calibre applicants who are nominated by a person or organisation with a national reputation and are invited to apply for this visa.
The most appealing benefit is that the GTI is a Permanent Residency visa and has been reported to have a processing time of mere weeks, as opposed to other Skilled Migration visas which can take months to progress.
Other appealing benefits of the GTI program include: that no skills assessment is required; no offer of employment is necessary; no requirements to invest in an Australian business exist; no age limit has been mandated, and an expression of interest can simply be submitted through the Global Talent contact form on the Department of Home Affairs website. Furthermore, Masters or PhD students in Australia with demonstrable talent and/or international recognition may also be eligible for this visa program.
The Skilled Stream has undergone the most changes; can you expand more upon this? What impact are you hoping to see?
There have been 79,600 places allocated to the Skilled Migration program in the 2020 to 2021 financial year, which unlike previous years, is almost equal to the Family program allocation. The government has placed a renewed focus on visa applicants who will be able to assist with Australia’s post COVID-19 economic recovery efforts, with particular priority being placed upon the above mentioned GTI program, Employer Sponsored visas and the Business Innovation and Investment Program (BIIP). We are hoping that the Skilled Migration program changes will meet the aim of assisting the Australian states and territories with their economic recovery from the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, while providing eligible and skilled visa applicants with priority processing and immediate pathways to Permanent Residency.
Changes to the Provisional Business Innovation and Investment visa seek to improve the quality of applicants. How so?
The Australian Government has announced that they will be implementing changes to streamline and improve the BIIP from 1 July 2021. The current backlog of BIIP visa applications likely has prompted the intended changes, which will assist with reducing the volume of applications by focusing on ‘higher quality candidates’.
The most notable changes include the closure of the Premium Investor stream, the Venture Capital Entrepreneur stream, and the Significant Business History stream, along with a substantial increase in the application charges by an additional 11.3% for the remaining BIIP visas. The aim of these changes is to focus on attracting higher value investors, entrepreneurs, and business owners ‘of scale’ to Australia in order to increase the economic return of the BIIP.
The government has also announced changes that aim to incentivise and reward high calibre BIIP applicants, including increasing the validity of the provisional visas to five years and providing applicants who meet the requirements with the opportunity to apply for Permanent Residency after three years.
Places have nearly doubled from 6,862 to 13,500 and the government will prioritise the processing of these visas. What challenges will your clients potentially face?
The Australian states and territories have fluctuated in their BIIP openings for state-based nomination during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the requirements for nomination by each state and territory are discretionary, different criteria have been introduced in the various jurisdictions which naturally can pose challenges for prospective BIIP applicants under the various streams. While the Australian Government will be streamlining the BIIP streams to only four as of 1 July 2021, the increased allocation of numbers in the program may assist with mitigating the effects of the competition for the reduced BIIP visa pathways available. Nonetheless, a key change that will be introduced for the Business Innovation stream to ensure the program is attracting migrants with ‘proven business skills’ is an increase in the prescribed level of business assets from $800,000 to $1.25 million. The prescribed annual turnover has also been increased from $500,000 to $750,000. These increases both will inherently make the visa requirements tougher for applicants to meet, as they will need to provide increased support of their business skills and acumen.
Aishwarya Somal
Director/Senior Immigration Lawyer
LLB. (UQ) GRAD DIP Legal Practice
OUR LOCATIONS
Brisbane Head office: Level 8 Northpoint,
231 North Quay Brisbane QLD 4000
t: (+617) 3211 4920
Sydney Office: Level 29, Chifley Tower,
2 Chifley Square, Sydney 2000, NSW
t: +61 2 92169045
Taringa office: 175A Swann Road,
Taringa QLD 4068
t: 07 3211 4920
E: reception@emersonmigrationlaw.com.au
W: https://emersonmigrationlaw.com.au/
We are a boutique migration consultation firm recognised as one of the foremost immigration practices, not just in Brisbane but throughout Australia. Founded by Aishwarya, our firm provides specialist advice on all aspects of immigration to Australia for both individual and corporate clients, covering the full range of applications to enter or remain in the country. The various types of visas we are able to assist with include:
We cover all areas of immigration law. We are able to provide expert assistance in relation to the preparation of applications, review of applications as well as represent clients in appeals to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (formerly the Migration Review Tribunal).
[1] Maani Truu, ‘Australia’s net migration intake drops to negative levels for the first time since World War II’, SBS News (online) (6 October 2020), < https://www.sbs.com.au/news/australia-s-net-migration-intake-drops-to-negative-levels-for-the-first-time-since-world-war-ii>.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Australian Government Department of Home Affairs, COVID-19 visa concessions (12 February 2021) Department of Home Affairs < https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/travel-restrictions>.
Being a popular destination for business people across the globe, and known as a country that opens its arms out for refugees, Canada announced plans late last year that will hopefully see an increase in immigration levels over the next few years. Is now a good time to consider moving? What are the blips you may face along the way? We speak to Lev Abramovich and Ksenia Tchern of Abramovich & Tchern PC (atimmigrationlaw.com), two Toronto based, immigration lawyers whose work extends further than helping you fill in an application, on the changes we can expect and what to look out for.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global migration patterns, generally, and on Canadian immigration laws specifically, can’t be overstated. Canada is a country whose population growth is dependent on immigration, and the plans announced in October 2020 by Canadian Minister of Immigration Marco Mendicino underscored the Liberal government’s commitment to immigration.
Mendicino announced that Canada aims to bring in more than 400,000 new permanent residents each year over 2021-2023: 401,000 in 2021; 411,000 in 2022; and, 421,000 in 2023. Most of these immigrants will be in the economic class. For 2021, the breakdown is as follows:
Since then, additional initiatives have been announced and we have seen a massive Express Entry draw allowing immigrants with a significantly lower CRS score to apply for permanent residence.
Is this good news for people looking to immigrate to Canada? The answer, as is so often the case with immigration law, is... it depends.
The pandemic provided immense challenges for immigration policies and processes, and Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) could have handled many of these challenges better. It took too long for the government to adjust to the new reality and to address the post-graduate work permit situation or to resume the processing of certain applications. IRCC’s decision to return as many spousal sponsorship applications as possible based on minute issues (and sometimes no issues at all) was also unfortunate.
We hope that in addition that the Liberal government’s commitment to high immigration numbers will be supported by new well thought-out programs as well as a general willingness to look at and reassess those parts of the Canadian immigration system that are archaic and serve neither Canada nor potential new Canadians.
We also hope to see COVID-19-specific immigration programs that will allow those who are already in Canada to transition to permanent residency based on employment as well as humanitarian-driven criteria.
We’d also like to see structural changes in the long-term, such as the creation of further centralized processing centres, the abandonment of the inland/outland distinction for certain classes of applications, as well as the requirement for paper-based spousal sponsorships and temporary residence permit applications which can lead to backlogs.
And if we’re talking really big picture, we’d love to see immigration programs that look forward to Canada’s future needs, bringing in innovation and—as immigration law is about people—innovators.
More needs to be done to attract entrepreneurs and investors. We have some tools in that regard through the Start-Up Visa program at the federal level and some provincial nomination programs, but as a firm that works closely with business people, we think more could be done in this area.
In addition, while the pandemic has accelerated the Refugee Protection Division’s modernization, further resources are required to ensure that those seeking protection can have their claims heard in a balanced manner and within a reasonable time frame.
Overall, Canada’s immigration system is balanced and reasonably robust, and the future appears to be quite bright, but as proud Canadians, we believe that more can be done to ensure that Canada is attracting the best and the brightest, while at the same time maintaining our commitment to human rights.
Because immigration is such a critical part of Canada’s population and economic growth, Canada has been favouring economic stream immigration pathways for some time now.
We have many economic immigration programs based on the applicant’s past or current employment. These include the Federal Skilled Worker, the Canadian Experience Class, and the Federal Skilled Trades Worker Class, which all fall within the scope of the Express Entry system, as well as work permit applications under Temporary Foreign Worker and International Mobility programs which could be utilized as pathways towards permanent residence. In addition, we have numerous provincial nominee streams that are driven by economic considerations.
In short, there are many potential entryways to Canada via economic streams.
Canada’s business immigration streams are a subset of this large economic class and include the Start-Up Visa program, which is designed to drive innovation by linking entrepreneurs with venture capital funds, and the Self-Employed category, which allows self-employed individuals with cultural, athletic, or farming experience to apply for permanent residence.
Until 2014, there were two additional federal business programs, the Investor and Entrepreneur streams, but these were shut down and never replaced. Subsequently, immigration lawyers started using the Owner/Operator LMIA stream as well as other work permit categories to design Express Entry based pathways towards permanent residence for entrepreneurs.
Unfortunately, Employment and Social Development Canada has recently announced changes to the Owner/Operator LMIA stream which fundamentally changes the nature of this program and reduces its usefulness. Fortunately, there are robust alternatives to this program, but we do want to see additional programs introduced on the Federal level.
In short, there are many potential entryways to Canada via economic streams. We see our role in the business immigration process very much as that of guides and scouts. We know what is at stake for our clients, so it’s our job to stay on top of all the moving parts, anticipate as best as we can what could change or be challenged, and align our clients’ immigration needs with their business plans.
We are half-excited and half-terrified about this process, to be honest. The backlogs created during COVID-19 in the spousal sponsorship, work permit, and temporary resident permit applications illustrated that IRCC had to up its infrastructure and technology game. So any initiatives that lead to faster processing times are great news.
But, speed is not everything, and not every immigration application is simple enough that an AI algorithm can evaluate it accurately. Some of IRCC’s current letters and checklists already appear devoid of humanity and frustrate our clients. Can a machine determine whether someone has a sincere interest in immigrating to Canada as a business person or whether a marriage is genuine?
There will be some bumps along the way as IRCC goes through its automation process. Clients with straight-forward applications will probably benefit from the automation. Those with more complex cases will require the support of immigration lawyers.
We firmly believe immigration law is about people. If the automation processes serve the people and make the immigration process smoother and faster for applicants, we will be their most ardent advocates. But it will take a while to get there. In the near-term, we expect it to lead to rejections that will require human-facilitated, old school appeals and advocacy.
Fortunately, that’s something immigration lawyers excel at.
We have a good immigration system, but we can do better.
The Express Entry program has been an overall success, but we need to do more to attract entrepreneurs and business immigrants. We need to launch new business programs that are committed, long-term, to building innovation via immigration. The Start-Up Visa program is a great idea that needs better implementation—specifically, shorter processing times. Time is money to entrepreneurs, and government agencies need to make more of an effort to understand the realities of business.
That’s also true for the LMIA process which is filed with red-tape and bureaucracy. For example, we have yet to meet an LMIA client whose independent and good-faith recruitment effort met ESDC’s requirements, because they operate in the realm of bureaucratic procedures, not business reality. In addition, certain LMIA categories absolutely need recruitment exemptions (which used to exist).
We also need to do more to attract tech talent that is tired of the US H1B process. We should relax the pathways to permanent residency for international students. And we should continue the expansion of Provincial Nominee Programs giving provinces higher quotas and greater power over their immigration needs.
Canada is a great country with a balanced immigration system but as the government increases our immigration targets, we must make additional invests in programs, infrastructure—and people power.
Time will also tell whether the effects of the pandemic on immigration patterns will just be a one-year dip.
The 2020 immigration numbers reflect the reality of the pandemic. Borders were closed. Immigration dropped. No further analysis necessary. What is important here is the response of the Canadian government—first, announcements of overall increased targets, and second, actions such as its 13 February 2021 Express Entry draw, the largest one ever. This is usually a highly competitive process that targets skilled workers who achieve a certain score. Pre-COVID, the cut-off point for qualified entrants was around 465 points. During 2020, it went as low as 431. To qualify for the 13 February 2021 draw, applicants had to meet a score of 75. Some 27,332 applicants were invited under this scheme (the typical draw invited around 3,000-5,000 people).
This certainly is one way of addressing falling immigration numbers. As long-time immigration practitioners committed to serving both the best interests of our clients and of Canada, we are very concerned about this approach. It turns what used to be a well-structured, comparatively fair system into a politics-driven lottery ticket that does not serve skilled immigrants—or Canada’s economic recovery. The fact that IRCC did not provide notice about this radically revised approach, left many applicants, who could have received invitations to apply, on the sidelines.
Time will tell whether this was a somewhat clumsy temporary measure or an ongoing pathway the IRCC has chosen to address the COVID-19 caused immigration shortfall of 2020. We hope it is the former.
Time will also tell whether the effects of the pandemic on immigration patterns will just be a one-year dip. We believe that even if global vaccination programs continue at their planned pace, 2021 will continue to see processing challenges and Canada may not meet all of its immigration targets.
For 2021 immigrants, entering the country under whatever stream, it will be more critical than ever to go through the process with a skilled immigration advocate.
The impact of COVID-19 on the practice of immigration law cannot be overstated. While we’ve experienced a lot of frustrations about some of IRCC’s responses to the pandemic, we’ve been impressed by how the Canadian immigration bar has repositioned. Good immigration lawyers know what is at stake—people’s lives—and we adapted at the speed of reality. We’ve always prided ourselves at being more than just lawyers to our clients: we’re trusted advisers, we’re part of the team that makes their dreams come true. That is a responsibility we take very seriously. So we stayed on top of updates, provided strategic guidance to clients, and, for some clients, we saw opportunities in the middle of the pandemic-caused crisis. We had one complex file in particular that had been in litigation for two years—more than four years in processing—and as COVID-19 threatened to grind its process to a halt, we got a mandamus application to get the IRCC moving, with the application being approved (subject to normal admissibility checks) a few days ago.
We also found an uptick in Humanitarian and Compassionate as well as Temporary Resident Permit applications, and a general rise in urgent matters—companies and individuals who thought they were doing a run of the mill immigration application suddenly found themselves facing unprecedented circumstances. And, of course, we found ourselves advising on remote work arrangements, and how they impacted employees’ residency status given the “borders-closed, everyone’s working from home” reality of the pandemic.
In a word: challenging. We foresee advising clients on COVID-19 testing and the evolving quarantine procedures, as well as possibly the implementation of vaccination passports. We will continue to deal with issues related to employer compliance, work location and remote work, and we expect that we will continue to need to get employment counsel involved. We also expect to see more family reunification files as Canadians living abroad seek to return home. On the business immigration front, we expect to do a lot of back and forth between our clients and IRCC and ESDC as they implement their new programs to ensure that our clients’ needs don’t fall between the cracks of our system’s rather complex and occasionally inflexible bureaucracy.
ABOUT LEV & KSENIA/PERSONAL Q&A
Why did you pick immigration law?
KSENIA: I started my legal career in the area of personal injury/tort law, but it just wasn’t clicking for me. When I took an immigration law seminar during my Master of Laws program, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. This was it—this was the thing I was supposed to do. I get to work with people from the globe, who come from various cultural backgrounds and speak different languages, and that’s exciting. Helping them navigate the complexities of immigration law and policy so that they can achieve their personal and professional goals in a new land—there’s nothing more rewarding.
LEV: I’m an immigrant myself so I was interested in immigration law even before I went to law school. Seeing how the immigration experience changed my family’s life for the better—I wanted to help others achieve the same. After law school, I articled at a multi-practice law firm where I was exposed to a few areas of law before deciding to focus solely on what drives me, immigration and refugee law. I enjoy working with people, and I enjoy challenging unfair decisions. I get excited about protecting the integrity of the system and seeing my clients succeed in Canada.
What inspires you on a daily basis?
KSENIA: Calling clients and telling them that their application has been approved is the best feeling ever. I live for those moments.
LEV: Being able to effect positive change. Seeing families reunited. Refugees granted protection. Companies getting the workers they need to grow or maintain their operations.
What made you decide to open your own law firm?
KSENIA: Immigration law is about people, and in large firms, that focus can be lost. I wanted to be in control of how I provide my services to clients. I wanted the freedom a boutique practice would give to really do my best for my clients.
LEV: Immigration law requires a specialized focus. I think we best serve clients in a dedicated, boutique-style environment, in which immigration is all that we do, and in which we’re small enough to be nimble, responsive and provide personalized service to clients. I’m also an entrepreneur at heart—that’s why I love the business stream immigration part of our practice—and the idea of building my own firm appealed to me.
What challenges did you face opening your firm, and how did you overcome them?
LEV & KSENIA: We decided to open our law firm despite the pandemic. Working with continuously changing policy and directives as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenge for sure. However, daily reviews and connections with our wonderful body of Canadian immigration lawyers kept us on top of the situation and allowed us to advise clients effectively during this unprecedented time.
And yet, much as it has been challenging, it also meant we hit the ground running with no pre-conceptions to get rid of. We started off prepared for remote work and uncertainty. We knew our clients were facing the exact same challenges, and that made us work all the harder for them.
What motto do you live by?
LEV: We both believe immigration law is about people, and that stems from a core value we both share—we put people first. That’s why we decided to team up as Abramovich & Tchern. People first. Get that right, and everything else will follow.
KSENIA: Practice what you preach. And we always preach that listening, engaging, and showing people empathy is the root of our practice.
If you had the power to change one thing about your work/immigration law, what would you pick and why?
KSENIA: I’d want to see self-employment work in Canada to be counted towards work CEC experience when applying for permanent residency under the Express Entry stream. It baffles that self-employed individuals, who contribute to the economy by creating jobs and paying taxes, cannot claim that as work experience.
LEV: I’d abandon the cap on the parents and grandparent’s sponsorship program. Families need to be together. Let’s help them do that.
Contact Information
200 University Avenue | Suite 1000 | Toronto | ON | M5H 3C6
416.551.1757
Abramovich & Tchern PC is a Canadian immigration law firm based in downtown Toronto that provides a full range of corporate and individual immigration services, from routine application processing to high-stakes immigration litigation. The firm works with international and Canadian businesses on strategy and compliances issues related to foreign workers and employee immigration. Its clients include businesses, employers, and individuals from the US, Latin America, India, the former Soviet republics, and around the world. It also provides United States immigration solutions.
Advocacy and client-focused, the firm’s founders believe a lawyer is first and foremost a client’s advocate. Its lawyers advocate for their clients at all levels of their immigration process. They use their litigators’ lens to structure application packages that tell a persuasive story and convince decision-makers. And, if things go wrong and their clients need to challenge a visa rejection or appeal an immigration decision, Abramovich & Tchern lawyers have the skills and experience to represent their clients before all relevant Canadian courts and tribunals.
Founding partners Lev Abramovich and Ksenia Tchern founded the boutique because they believe immigration law is about people—their lives, their dreams, and their future. Their immigration law firm allows them to deliver people-focused immigration solutions in the ever-changing Canadian and US immigration law landscape.
