A Immigration Judicial Review is a formal process by which a court will look over what a decision-maker did.
In immigration law, you can ask the court to review a decision made by IRCC, like when your application for a study permit, work permit, permanent residence, or another type of visa was turned down.
If you win, the decision will be thrown out, and your case will be looked at again by a different immigration officer.
Unless there is a breach of natural justice and/or duty of process fairness, the Federal Court will use the reasonableness standard as its review standard. First, this means that the court will look over the ruling and decide if it makes sense.
A reasonable choice is one that makes sense on its own and is based on a logical line of reasoning. It has to make sense in light of the facts and the law.
The reasonableness standard says that a person who makes a choice should be respected. This means the Federal Court won’t easily overturn a decision or make a decision that is the same as the one it would have made if it had been in charge of making the decision.
There is a range of results that are acceptable, and the IRCC‘s choice must be one of them.
Strict deadlines for initiating a judicial review
You only have a certain amount of time to ask the Federal Court for leave and legal review. As soon as you get the letter of refusal, you have 15 days to do something about it in Canada.
For things that happen outside of Canada, you have 60 days. You can ask for more time, but there must be a good reason.
How do I submit a request for judicial review?
The first thing you need to do to start the process of Immigration Judicial Review Success Rate Canada is to ask the Federal Court for leave.
In simple terms, you need to ask the court for permission to begin a judicial review, hold a meeting, and get a decision. To get leave, you have to make an applicant’s record in which you explain why IRCC’s choice is wrong or unreasonable.
One thing that needs to be done first is to ask for leave and court review and send it to the Department of Justice (DOJ). This is a warning that you are going to do a judicial review.
The DOJ will respond with a notice of appearance. The letter says that they are going to answer the request for leave.
Once this is turned in, the Federal Court will ask IRCC for the reasons for the ruling under Rule 9 if they have not already been sent. The notes that the immigration officer took are in the Rule 9 releases.
After getting the Rule 9 declaration, the applicant’s record needs to be made perfect. You need to give an outline of your case. This has research on the law and arguments to show a judge that IRCC’s ruling is wrong.
A lawyer from the Department of Justice (DOJ) will be there to defend IRCC, and they will also have a chance to give their own memorandum of argument. Once you get the respondent’s record, you will have a chance to react to the DOJ’s memorandum of argument.
As was already said, a judge must give permission for a Immigration Judicial Review Success Rate Canada to happen. After both parties’ records are complete, the judge will look over them on paper.
The judge has a lot of freedom to choose whether to accept your leave application or not. If there is no chance that your entry will be accepted, it will usually be thrown out.
Most of the time, requests for leave are turned down. In visa cases, the Federal Court only gives leave in 20% of cases.
You can’t make an appeal if your application for leave is turned down. If your request is accepted, a judge will set a time to hear your Immigration Judicial Review case. In light of this, it is crucial to properly compose, study, and present the memorandums of the case in order to do well while on leave.
You will say that IRCC made a mistake, in fact, law, or both during the meeting. IRCC will say there is no mistake. During a judicial review, new information is usually not allowed.
There was proof in front of the immigration officer when the decision was made, and the judge will look at it. They will look into the decision’s reasons and how the law was used in more detail.
After the hearing, the court will make a ruling. Based on how complicated the case is, it could take anywhere from one to six months.
This gives you a general idea. There are different due dates and rules that must be followed throughout the process. It is suggested that you hire an immigration lawyer with courtroom experience to help you study, argue, and properly prepare your application for judicial review.
The result of a Immigration Judicial Review
The choice made by IRCC will be thrown out if the Federal Court agrees to review it. In other words, the refusal will be thrown out. IRCC will get your original application back. Based on the information you gave the first time, a different immigration worker will look over your application again.
In other words, your application could be turned down by another immigration officer even if the Federal Court accepts it.
What chance is it that a judicial review will be successful?
This is going to depend on your situation. The Federal Court only grants leave in 20% of immigration cases, but some cases are settled before they are granted leave. In other words, IRCC agrees with the request for judicial review and has given your immigration case to a different immigration officer.
It’s possible that IRCC has a reason to settle. To begin, fighting a court review takes time and money. Second, if the court review went well for you, it could set a standard for future cases and force IRCC to change how they handle other refusals.
If a court thinks that IRCC made incorrect decisions about how to carry out a program, for instance, IRCC might have to change how they look at thousands of applications. To put it another way, they might settle your case rather than setting a new standard or changing the way they do things.
Is a judicial review appropriate?
A court review is very rarely used. The Federal Court only looks at final choices. For example, if IRCC gives you a letter about procedural fairness, the administrative process is still going on, and a court review would not be appropriate at this point.
In this case, IRCC has not made a final ruling yet, so the process of judicial review is not yet complete.
A judicial review is something that the Federal Court will only think about after all other options have been used up.
This means that if you can appeal at the Immigration and Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board, you should do so before you file an application for leave and judicial review.
It is when a judge looks over a ruling again. The court review is based on your first application. Most of the time, you can’t add new proof. If your first application is weak or missing parts, you might not need a court review.
There is no chance to provide more supporting papers during a judicial review.
You might want to improve your visa application and try again. If you are turned down again, you should file a second, stronger application for leave and court review.
Can I file my own judicial review at the Federal Court of Canada?
Yes. The Federal Court has a full guide for people who are representing themselves in court. However it is highly suggested that you have a lawyer because the process can be hard to understand and follow the right steps.
As was already said, you will need to put together an applicant’s record with legal study and arguments. To defend your case and get leave from the Federal Court, you need to make sure that your application is well-researched and well-written.
What’s the difference between an appeal and a judicial review?
In the law, a court review and an appeal mean different things. People who have been turned down for support, residency requirements, removal orders, or issues with their ability to stay in the country can file an appeal with the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board.
A judge can look over the final choices made by the IAD. You can ask a judge to review the IAD’s ruling if it rejects your appeal. But, as we already said, if you can appeal to the IAD, you must do so before going to court to get a review.
Can you challenge a Federal Court decision?
Most of the time, you can’t appeal a Federal Court ruling. You must have a verified question in order to go to the Federal Court of Appeal and plead your case. You and the DOJ will both have a chance to ask a question that will be certified at the end of the meeting.
If I win the judicial review, can I get legal costs back?
If your judicial review is allowed, you usually can’t get the Department of Justice to pay for your legal fees. There must be a good reason for the cost, and the load is heavy. In other words, the Federal Court will not order DOJ to pay your legal fees if you win.
Summary:
- Judicial Review: Formal Process
- Reasonableness Standard
- Time Limits for Filing
- Varied Success Rates
- Importance of Legal Representation
