Canada Federal Court Judicial Review

Canada Federal Court Judicial Review is the legal appeal process when your refused application does not allow a statutory right of appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division IAD of the Immigration and Refugee Board IRB. Refused Economic Class permanent residence applications, as well as inland spousal sponsorship applications can appeal to Canada Federal Court Judicial Review. Refusal and Decisions by the Immigration Appeal Division IAD can be appealed for judicial review by the Federal Court.

Not all cases submitted to the Canada Federal Court for Judicial Review will be heard by the court. This is because appellants must first request leave from the Federal Court to commence judicial review of the matter at issue – meaning the court has the discretionary power to decide whether to hear the matter.

Canada Federal Court Judicial Review Permission

An application requesting leave (permission) and judicial review is submitted to the Federal Court. A judge of the Federal Court determines whether to grant leave, usually without the need for the parties like CIC, IAD or IRB to appear. Only if and when leave is granted will the court judge set a hearing date to hear the judicial review proceeding. Hearing dates are generally set 30 to 90 days after the date leave was granted. If the request for leave is refused, the case will not be considered by the court.

At the court hearing, both parties the appellant and the immigration authority will be given an opportunity to provide oral submissions. The judge may either render their decision from the bench, or reserve judgment. The ability to appeal decisions of the Federal Court to the Federal Court of Appeal is extremely limited. The judicial review decisions by a Federal Court judge are often final and cannot be appealed except under strict circumstances.

If considering an appeal by way of judicial review to the Federal Court, it is important you receive proper Immigration lawyer legal advice as soon as you receive notification that your application has been refused. Strict timelines are in place for filing an application for leave and for judicial review. Depending on the matter, the deadline for filling a leave application to Federal Court will be either 15 or 60 days from the date you receive notification of the decision. Not all refusals are suitable for judicial review, nor stand a strong chance of success.

Canada Federal Court Judicial Review Procedures 

The IAD and Federal Court operate on very different set of rules, each with their own filing deadlines and procedures. Generally, IAD appeals must be filed within thirty or sixty days, depending on the matter, and Federal Court appeals must be filed within fifteen or sixty days after the applicant receives a refusal.

If you receive a refusal on any immigration application, we recommend you immediately contact one of our experienced immigration lawyers to be advised on the following issues:

• Determine if the visa office refusal merit the costs and expenses of an appeal to Federal Court of judicial review
• Determine the best option is to fight the refusal
• Observe the deadline to file an appeal or judicial review
• Discuss with your lawyer the best procedural steps to follow
• Mark your calendar for important timeline of the appeal process
• How to proceed after an appeal is won

Federal Court of Canada Judicial Review Action Plan

Waiting to contact an immigration lawyer after receiving a refusal can be a costly mistake because of the strict filing deadlines. If you have an application that has been refused or you have been ordered to leave Canada, contact an immigration lawyer, in most cases legal options exist that can resolve your immigration matters, no matter how daunting they may seem.