Judicial Review Of Immigration Refusals

If your immigration application to Canada has been refused, you might still have an option to get the decision reviewed. This is basically what a Judicial Review (JR) means. So, if you want to know more about reviewing an immigration decision, this article is for you.

A Judicial Review is a process by which the federal court makes sure that any decision taken by the administrative body is fair, reasonable, and lawful. So, JR means requesting a judge to decide if the decision taken by the immigration authorities is correct.

If the judge agrees to a JR, the authorities must reopen the application. They have to review the application again. However, this does not guarantee the approval of the application. Your application can be refused after the judicial review too.

How to apply for a Judicial Review?

You need to follow the following steps to apply for a JR-

1 First is the application for “leave”. You have to get the court’s permission to have your case reviewed. The court does not review all applications that are refused. If the court believes that a mistake has been made, only then does it allow a JR.

It is up to the court to accept or deny a JR. So, if the court does not allow a JR, it is their final decision. You cannot do anything about it. All you can do is submit a new application if you are eligible to do so.

2. The second is the actual review by the court. If you have been granted a review, this step begins. You or your lawyer has to submit your Notice of Application for Judicial Review. This should be done within 30 days of an immigration decision made inside Canada. You have 60 days if the decision was made outside of Canada.

If your application for a JR is successful, the Federal Court may overturn the Visa Officer/decision-makers decision. The court may set aside the original decision. Also, it can order a redetermination of your visa application from a different visa officer or decision-maker.

The filing fee for a Judicial Review is $50.

You should only consider applying for judicial review if you are confident that your application was submitted perfectly. You should have answered all possible questions accurately and with evidence. Lastly, you should be firm that there were no holes in the application that could have made the refusal reasonable.

Important: RCIC (Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant) cannot apply for your judicial review, but an Immigration lawyer can. Furthermore, you can also self represent, meaning it is not mandatory to have a lawyer.

Click here for more information on how to file an application for judicial review.