The letter says your application has been refused. It may give one line of reasons, or a paragraph that does not quite match your file. A refusal does not always mean there is nothing you can do, but the options narrow quickly, and choosing the wrong one first can close off the right one.
Start with the reasons
The refusal letter usually states the ground for refusal in general terms. The officer’s actual reasoning is in the notes on your file. For online applications, some of that appears in the officer’s decision notes. For the full picture, request your GCMS notes. Our post on GCMS notes explains how.
Common reasons include:
- the officer was not satisfied with the evidence
- information was missing or unclear
- the officer was not satisfied the program requirements were met
- credibility or consistency concerns
The clock is already running
If you may want to go to the Federal Court, the deadline is short: 15 days from when you were notified of a decision made in Canada, and 60 days for a decision made outside Canada. Appeals, where they exist, have their own short deadlines.
A request to IRCC to reconsider does not stop the Federal Court deadline. If you ask for reconsideration and wait for an answer, the time to go to court may run out in the meantime. If court is a possibility, decide on it before the deadline, not after.
Option 1: Ask IRCC to reconsider
A reconsideration request asks the officer to reopen the decision, usually because of an error of fact or law, or because important evidence was overlooked. Depending on the application, you may be able to add evidence. If the refusal letter gives an email address, the request is usually sent there. Otherwise, it goes through the IRCC web form.
IRCC is not required to reconsider, and many requests receive no substantive answer. Reconsideration works best for clear, provable errors. Our post on reconsideration requests explains when it is worth trying and when to go straight to court.
Option 2: Appeal, where the law allows it
Appeals are only available where the legislation provides for them. The main ones are:
- Refugee claims refused by the RPD, appealed to the Refugee Appeal Division in most cases
- Family sponsorship refusals, appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division
- Residency obligation decisions against permanent residents
- Some removal orders against permanent residents and certain others
A visitor visa, study permit, work permit or most economic permanent residence refusals cannot be appealed. Our post on sponsorship appeals at the IAD explains how those appeals work.
Option 3: Judicial review at the Federal Court
Where there is no appeal, or an appeal has been decided, you can apply to the Federal Court for leave and judicial review. The Court does not rehear the application or usually accept new evidence. It asks whether the decision was reasonable and procedurally fair.
If the Court finds a problem, it generally sends the application back to be decided again by a different officer. It does not approve the application itself. Our posts on appeals and judicial review and the Federal Court timeline explain the process.
Option 4: Reapply
Sometimes the fastest route is a new, stronger application. That makes sense where the refusal was about missing documents, where your circumstances have changed, or where the officer’s concerns can be answered clearly with new evidence. Reapplying without addressing the reasons for refusal usually produces the same result.
Will a refusal affect future applications?
It can. Refusals stay on your immigration record and are visible to future officers. Inconsistent information across applications can lead to misrepresentation concerns, which carry a five-year bar. Our post on misrepresentation explains the risk.
Specific refusals
We have written separately about study permit refusals and visitor visa refusals. If you received a procedural fairness letter before a decision was made, your response is often the best chance to prevent a refusal in the first place.
You may have as little as 15 days to challenge a refusal made in Canada, or 60 days if it was made outside Canada. Tell us what was refused and when, and we’ll get back to you about your options.
How we can help
At Kabir & Alam, we review refusals, identify which option fits, and handle reconsideration requests, appeals and Federal Court applications within the deadlines. Read more about our immigration litigation practice or book a consultation with us.
This post is general information about Canadian immigration law and is not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak with a lawyer about your situation before making decisions.