“Does the Immigration Appeal Division have an obligation to determine the genuineness of a marriage on a de novo appeal from a removal order on the basis of a misrepresentation, when the genuineness of the marriage was the misrepresentation alleged in the subsection 44(1) report and was relevant to a determination by the IAD of … Read More
Arguing Incompetence of Counsel in an Appeal
Many lawyers when they meet with clients often review rejected applications and/or appeals where it is obvious that the individual’s previous representative was incompetent. The examples of incompetence range from missed deadlines to ignorance of the law. Some specific examples include: former counsel being told by an Immigration Appeal Division member to “sit down” because … Read More
Extrinsic Evidence
Where immigration officers have extrinsic evidence particular to an applicant, and that applicant is unaware that the immigration officer has that evidence, then procedural fairness requires that immigration officers disclose this evidence to the applicant.
Mandamus Orders
A mandamus order is a judicial command to a government body to do, or forbear from, doing a specific act which it is obligated in law to do. The Federal Court’s decision in Vaziri v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2006 FC 1159, is one of the most cited case in the immigration context for … Read More
Asking the Embassy to Re-Consider an Application
Once a decision has been rendered in relation to an application for a humanitarian and compassionate exemption, is the ability of the decision-maker to reopen or reconsider the application on the basis of further evidence provided by an applicant limited by the doctrine of functus officio?
Considering the Evidence in its Entirety
One of the most common reasons for seeking judicial review is because of concerns that a tribunal did not consider an applicant’s evidence in its entirety. Relevant Documents Must be Considered or Mentioned Federal Court of Canada jurisprudence is clear that when assessing the credibility of an individual, tribunals have to consider and assess all of … Read More
What Happens After a Judicial Review
The Federal Court of Canada (the “Federal Court”) has the jurisdiction to review immigration decisions, including those of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) and the Canada Border Services Agency (“CBSA”). The Federal Court will not order a specific result. Rather, the Federal Court will order that the application be sent back for re-determination by … Read More
The “Innocent Mistake” Defence to Misrepresentation
Canadian immigration law provides that a person who makes an application must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination. One of the most difficult issues to resolve when an individual is immigrating to Canada are allegations from the Government of Canada about misrepresentation. Section 40(1)(a) of Canada’s Immigration and Refugee … Read More
The Right of Permanent Resident Visa Holders to Appeal to the IAD
Section 63(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (“IRPA“) provides that: A foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa may appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division against a decision to make a removal order against them made under subsection 44(2) or made at an admissibility hearing. The jurisprudence around this section has seemingly been to … Read More
Staying Removal at the IAD
People issued removal orders often want to know how long they can stay in Canada before they have to leave, and if there is a chance to defer removal.