Applied Using the Wrong Form

Steven MeurrensUncategorized

In Zelmanovitz v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 597, Justice Norris stated:

I am satisfied that the officer’s decision is unreasonable. The determinative issue is the officer’s refusal to facilitate the processing of the work permit application as an out-of-Canada application. As part of her request for reconsideration, the applicant had corrected her earlier error and submitted the proper form for someone applying for a work permit from outside Canada. She also provided a detailed explanation (supported by a statutory declaration) for how she had come to make her earlier error and why she was now submitting the correct application form within the context of a request for reconsideration. On review, the respondent was unable to point to any legislation, regulation or policy to support the officer’s statement that the application ““as submitted cannot be considered as an out of Canada application.”” Importantly, and contrary to what the officer appears to have thought, it was impossible for the applicant to correct her earlier error by submitting a new application. Given that she was now outside the timeframe to apply for a post-graduate work permit because of how long IRCC had taken to deal with the application as originally submitted, any such application would be doomed to fail for that reason alone.