Why book a consultation?

An initial consultation appointment is how we determine what your options are. It gives us an opportunity to meet with you to review your case and determine whether a Federal Court Judicial Review is the best option. We will review the application you submitted, review the refusal and give you an opinion about whether we believe the decision is reasonable. Sometimes, it is best if you re-file and address whatever deficiency might have existed with your original application. But sometimes, the Federal Court is your only hope. A clear example is if your application has been refused for misrepresentation. That means Canada Immigration is saying you lied about something very important and they will bar you from even applying to Canada for 5 years. This is an extremely serious consequence which you can only fix with the Court’s intervention. A consultation will help us assess what your chances of success are. We do not take on futile cases that have no chance of success and we will give you our honest opinion. If we feel you have a chance of proceeding, then we will tell you so. The cost of the consultation is well spent to avoid the cost of more expensive (but maybe futile) processes.

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What are your deadlines?

The deadline to start a Federal Court Judicial Review depends on where the decision was made. For decisions made in Canada, you only have 15 days from the date you received the decision. For decisions made outside Canada, you have 60 days from the date you received the refusal. Additional strict timelines follow relating to filing materials for the Court’s review. Get legal advice as soon as possible to determine whether a Federal Court Judicial Review is something you should pursue.

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What if your deadline has passed?

Not all is lost. If you have a good case, then the Court will grant a time extension. But, it is vitally important that your delay is minimal. Otherwise, the Court will determine that you did not truly intend to pursue the appeal and refuse your request for a time extension. It is always worth asking for a time extension. The worst the Court can say is ‘no’…. but not asking means you are missing a very important opportunity.

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What does the court process involve?

An application to the Federal Court is not an "appeal". It is called a Judicial Review. This simply means that the court "reviews" the underlying decision and decides whether, based on the evidence that was before the decision-maker, the decision was reasonable.  Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s a PDF flowchart which explains the full process. The Court process is largely paper-based. There is no right to a hearing unless a Judge decides that the written materials demonstrate that a good case can be made. Drafting that legal arAdditional strict timelines follow relating to filing materials for the Court’s review.gument is extremely challenging. 

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What kinds of refusals can go to Federal Court?

Your best bet is to contact us so we can help you determine what your best path forward is. But, here are some examples of the types of refusals we often appeal to the Federal Court:

• Visitor Visas

• Study Permits

• Work Permits

• Economic Permanent Residence

• In-Canada Sponsorships

• Negative tribunal decisions

• (In)Admissibility decisions

• Removal Orders

• Sponsorships

• Residency Obligation

• Citizenship

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Is a Federal Court Judicial Review your only option?

That’s a great question. Our initial focus is related to answering this question. If we think there is a better, simpler, or more cost effective options, we will advise you to take that option. We only take matters to the Federal Court when we truly believe there is merit and that it is your best option.

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What does it cost for a Judicial Review Application?

This depends on how far we need to go in the process. A consultation appointment will allow us to determine how far we thing you will need to go through the Court process. Success before the Federal Court depends almost entirely on the competence of your legal representation. The analysis required to determine whether an application should be made is very technical. Our firm has excellent success before the FC. We will give you our honest assessment of the chances of success at the FC and the costs involved.

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