If your application to immigrate to Canada is turned down, it will often come as a great shock. In some cases you may have waited many years for an answer, and when a letter arrives from the visa office, unexpectedly quoting regulations and requirements with which you may not even be familiar as the reason for the refusal, you may be at a loss as to what to do now.

The first lesson to learn is not to take it personally. Canada refuses a surprisingly large number of applications every year - the latest figure available is for 2006, when almost half of all applications in the strategically important economic and business categories were refused. The onus is always on the applicant to demonstrate they meet the criteria for the category in which they are applying. In most instances where an immigration application is declined, it is because the applicant failed to produce adequate documentary evidence to demonstrate they meet the requirements, or did not understand that their application wouold be evaluated in an extrmely technical way, or perhaps because they did not fully understand the criteria for the visa category in which they were applying.

If the refusal is because you submitted informaton to the visa office which they did not consider, you may be able to have the decision reconsidered. Provided you have a copy of the inmformation that was sent, and proof of delivery, a polite e-mail, fax, or letter to the Immigration Program Manager pointing out that some of the documentary evidence you suipplied was ignored may suffice to reverse the decision. In all cases, however, there are strict deadlines for commencing legal proceedings to challenge a decision in Federal Court or at the Immigration Appeal Division. If these deadlines pass by before the visa office has replied to you, it may be too late to file an Appeal.

In the case of a refusal that occurs outside Canada, an application to Federal Court for leave to appeal must be filed within 60 days of the applicant being notified, or otherwise becoming aware, of the refusal. For an application within Canada that is refused, the period is much shorter - only 15 days. The Court may decide to allow an application that is filed late to proceed, but there is no guarantee that it will. It is important to know also that the Court will not consider new evidence. All the judge will do is to look at the decision and decide if a mistake was made by the visa office in applying the law, or if the procedure that was followed was unfair. If the Court decides to allow the Appeal, they will order that the application be re-considered by a different visa officer.

In family class cases such as the sponsorship of a spouse or parent, the sponsor does have the right to a Hearing at which new evidence can be presented if the permanent residence application for their husband, wife, common-law partner of relative is refused. In these cases a Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days of receipt of the refual letter by the sponsor. At the time of writing (2009) there is a lengthy backlog of cases awaiting a Hearing, and these cases can take a year or longer to resolve.

A permanent resident whose status is in question, or whose permanent resident card is not renewed, may also seek a Hearing by the Immigration Appeal Division, at which the cirucmstances, including any Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations, may be considered.

In all cases where an immigration application is refused, it is important to seek timely assistance from a competent immigration consultant or lawyer to make sure that your application has the best possible chance of success.. About the author: Ron Liberman is a Canadian citizen and is a Full Member of the Canadian Society of Immigration Consultant. At the time of writing (2009) he is akso the President of the BC Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Immigration Consultants. His Canada immigration web-site htttp://www.bestplace.ca contains extensive information about how to move to Canada.