The issuance of a study permit is approved at the discretion of a Canadian immigration officer.
Unfortunately, it is common for a study permit to be refused to a foreign national for a variety of
reasons if you did not:
- show proof that you have enough money to support yourself while studying in Canada
- pass your medical exam, if you need to get one
- convince the visa officer that your main purpose in Canada is to study or
- convince the visa officer that you’ll leave Canada at the end of your study period
In the event that a study permit is refused, a visa officer will issue the refusal in a letter outlining
the grounds for refusal. There are two courses of action for addressing the refusal:
- Appeal the decision:
If an applicant believes that their application met all requirements as mandated by IRCC, but the
study permit was refused unfairly or incorrectly, the foreign national can appeal the decision.
This is done by filing an Application for Leave and for Judicial Review at the Federal Court of
Canada.
- Submit a new application:
If the reasons for refusal are remedied and the condition of the applicant changes, they can
submit a new application and pay careful attention to address the previous grounds for refusal.
As well, if any documents need to be updated (start date on acceptance letter, updated bank
statements, etc.) the applicant should be sure to obtain these updates.
The Federal Court has held that it is unreasonable for an immigration officer to refuse a study
permit application on the basis of an applicant’s lack of a dependent spouse or children, without
any further analysis, it should not be considered a negative factor on a study permit application.
Otherwise, this would preclude many students from being eligible.
The Court has also held that an officer should not draw negative inferences from an applicant’s
family ties in Canada. If anything, an officer should consider an applicant’s family’s financial support as a positive factor.
At the very least, an officer must justify their reasoning and it is unreasonable to infer that an applicant will remain in the country illegally simply because an applicant has strong family ties in Canada.
In numerous cases, the Courts have quashed visa officers’ decision where it does not bear the hallmark of reasonableness.
A reasonable decision is one that is based on a rational chain of analysis and is transparent, intelligible, and justified. Canada v. Vavilov
