Have You Been Rejected?

Canadian immigration laws are always enforced strictly and even minor failures in meeting the legal and regulatory requirements will lead to rejection. These rejections are communicated to you by way of a refusal letter. If you receive such letter informing you that your application has been rejected, you should not panic as there are options for appealing the rejection. You should, however, note that there are strict time limitations within which you must act in appealing the rejection. These time limits vary depending upon the nature of your case. The remedies (or options) that are available to you also vary depending upon the class/category under which you initially applied.

 

For example, if you initially applied as a Skilled Worker, Investor, Entrepreneur, Visitor, Work/Study Permit applicant, Live-in Caregiver, Canadian Experience Class or as a Refugee and your application/case was rejected, your available option/remedy, aside from reapplying in some cases, is an Appeal to the Federal Court, further details on which may be obtained by clicking on the above link. Further cases the appeals from which go directly to the Federal Court include: (1) rejections of Pre-Removal Risk Assessment applications; and (2) rejections of Humanitarian & Compassionate applications. It should be noted that, generally speaking, all decisions made by a governmental authority in the course of their duties are subject to being judicially reviewed by the Federal Court.

However, if you applied as a sponsored person under the Family Class – spouses, parents, grandparents, orphaned brothers and sisters under 18, or children – from outside Canada, your appeal must go to the Immigration Appeal Division. Please click on the link Appeals to the Immigration Appeal Division for further detail. Further cases whose appeal goes to the Immigration Division or the IAD include cases of: (1) permanent residents who faces deportation because they have been declared “inadmissible” to Canada, for example, as a result of a criminal conviction; or (2) persons who have lost their permanent resident status due to failure to comply with their residency obligation (when staying outside Canada for too long) or due to misrepresentation (for example, a person who has lied in their application forms about a criminal record or about his/her relationship with a spouse) to immigration authorities.

If you do not find your situation in any of the classes/categories described above, this does not mean that there are no options or remedies available for you. In all circumstances, with rather minor exceptions, there are almost always a remedy that is applicable to your case. All you have to do is to contact our office and arrange for a free half hour initial consultation during which we will advise you of the suitable course of action.

Regardless of the available options, appeals, be it to the Federal Court or the IAD, are subject to a very complicated and strict set of legal and evidentiary requirements. Given the legal complexities and the applicable time limits, persons contemplating an appeal are therefore well advised to seek the advice of an experienced lawyer as soon as possible.

To obtain further information and to take advantage of our free half hour initial consultation, please contact our office at (416) 365-9473.