Sponsorship appeals, residency appeals, and removal order appeals involving Canadian citizens or permanent residents are all heard by the Immigration Appeal Division. These appeals are started by submitting a Notice of Appeal document to the Appeal Division, together with a copy of the rejection decision being appealed.
Following the filing of the appeal, the immigration authorities will prepare the Tribunal Record, which is a copy of their file pertaining to the immigration matter being appealed. The Record is usually created three or four months after the appeal is filed, and a copy is mailed to the appellant.
Following receipt of the Record, employees at the Appeal Division will review it to determine if the case is amenable to early resolution, either through written submissions or through the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process. If the Appeal Division decides that an ADR is warranted, they will schedule a date for the meeting, which is normally within six to eight months of the time the case was filed.
Many immigration rulings can be appealed from either outside or inside Canada, depending on the kind of application. The following categories of decisions can be appealed to the Federal Court of Canada (referred to as “judicial review”):
Refusal of visitor visas Refusal of student visas
Refusal of a work permit
Decisions on inadmissibility, including criminal and medical inadmissibility Humanitarian and compassionate refusals
A refusal of a guest visa or a student visa is frequently issued in a general decision letter to an applicant. An applicant can receive written explanations from the Visa Officer by filing a Federal Court application or by submitting an online Access to Information request. Prior to filing a new application, it is critical to request written reasons so that any issues raised by the Officer can be addressed in the new application.