If you applying to become a temporary or permanent resident in Canada, learning that your application has been refused can be devastating.

Fortunately, you may have recourse. An immigration officer’s decision to refuse an application may be challenged if the decision was wrong in fact or in law, or unreasonable with regards to the facts at hand and the quality of the file presented to the officers. Depending on the facts of the case, it can also be a rightful decision, but one that can be overturned in light of humanitarian considerations.

All decisions taken by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada that affect an application can be presented to the Federal Court, which will first decide if the case merits a hearing (prima facie unreasonable) or if it raises an important question of Law. An example of this could be a work or study permit application that is refused despite substantial evidence that could favor its approval.

A lawyer from our offices can help you assess whether the refusal meets the threshold for judicial review, or whether it may be advisable to reapply with additional information.

The refusal of an application for permanent residence can also be contested before the Immigration Appeal Division, in the case of refused sponsorships, for example. The refusal of an application for permanent residence can also be contested before the Federal Court, as would be the case for a refused skilled worker application.

If warranted in your particular situation, we can do the following:

- Reconsideration letters. If the refusal was based on an error in fact or in law, and/or if that decision was not in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness, we will write to the program manager of the Canadian Visa Office in question to point out the errors and to request a reconsideration of the refusal.

- If no response is received or a negative response is received, we can seek the appropriate legal proceedings if the case appears to be worth pursuing:

Note 1: For applications rejected by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada at the federal level, recourses are usually presented before the Immigration Appeal Division of the Federal Court.

Note 2: For applications rejected by the Ministère de l’immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (Quebec only, for permanent immigration applications), recourses are usually presented before the Tribunal administratif du Québec or the Superior Court of Quebec.

For more information, please contact us.