Expert Judicial Review

In Canada, students don’t have a stand-alone student visa like in other countries. Canada provides a Temporary Resident Visa also known as a TRV. Study Permit along with TRV allows an applicant to take on a particular course of studies for a definite period of time. Since the study permit is an addition to or an extension of the temporary resident visa, all the applicable terms and conditions of the temporary resident visa also apply to the study permit holder. The most important one is the temporary nature of such residency. As such, even where the applicant met all other requirements of a study permit if the immigration officer or the visa officer cannot on the balance of probabilities satisfy themselves that the applicant is going to leave the country at the end of their studies, the officer is allowed to refuse the application referencing s. 216(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulation or the IRPR.

When an application is refused on the grounds of s. 216(1) of the IRPR, that in itself is a fair indicator that the applicant has submitted an otherwise complete application. Because, if the applicant has missed a form or did not comply with all the basic requirements for a study permit, then the officer would have refused the application referring to those deficiencies and would not need to refer to s. 216(1). We have listed different grounds under s.216(1) based on which the immigration officer can refuse a study permit to an applicant, if your Canadian student visa (study permit) application was refused for the following reasons, in most cases, we can help you set aside that refusal through the Federal Court of Canada Judicial Review process.

• The officer is not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, as stipulated in subsection 216(1) of the IRPR, based on the purpose of your visit.
• The officer is not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, as stipulated in subsection 216(1) of the IRPR, based on your family ties in Canada and in your country of residence.
• The officer is not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, as stipulated in subsection 216(1) of the IRPR, based on your travel history.
• The officer is not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, as stipulated in subsection 216(1) of the IRPR, based on your immigration status.
• The officer is not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, as stipulated in subsection 216(1) of the IRPR, based on your current employment situation.

Many legal decisions are made through “administrative decision-makers”. These legislative bodies can take various forms: The Canadian Borders Services Agency, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, the College of Registered Nurses of BC, among others.

These decision-makers are given the power to execute and enforce certain laws, and their decisions are legally binding. However, when/if they act unfairly or unjustly, their decision can be reviewed and potentially overturned. This process is called a judicial review.