What to do if an application is refused?
Any application can be refused
Any application submitted to the immigration authorities may be either approved or refused; there can be no guarantee that an application will be approved.
Immigration officers are specialists in their field and can detect discrepancies within an application quickly. They will establish if an application is eligible for approval through standard verification checks and use their discretion to determine the credibility of a candidate.
If an application is refused, it does not mean that you cannot succeed next time (exceptions apply)
People often ask if they are allowed to reapply for a visa if they get a refusal. There is no limitation; you can re-submit any type of application after a refusal.
In certain cases however, where a refusal was due to misrepresentation that resulted in a ban on entering Canada, the subsequent application will be refused if the ban is not dealt with first.
Otherwise, you can reapply without reservation; once you are certain that you are qualified and can fulfill the necessary criteria the next time around, you shouldn’t let anything stand in your way.
If an application is refused for not meeting applicable requirements, then you need to understand the reasons, address them and re-apply
Refusal letters are simply a type of checklist template that an immigration officer uses to put checkmarks next to the most suitable refusal reason(s) in a long list of the most typical ones. Such letters do not provide enough details for a candidate to understand why an officer refused their application.
It is important to address the issues causing the refusal in order to re-apply for a visa. The candidate should be given the real underlying reasons why their application was denied.
An officer's reasoning is recorded in the client’s file, unfortunately this is not included in the refusal letter, however it can be requested separately. Once this request is done, it will give you the details you need to make your application better suited for resubmittal.
If an application is refused due to an error made by an officer, you can appeal the refusal
Some refusals happen due to human error — an officer may overlook some documents, misinterpret the facts, miss an important piece of information etc. You can usually determine this type of error from the refusal letter and if that is the case, there are several ways to appeal such refusal.
You only have a limited time to appeal, and before doing so, you need to establish where to take your case. This depends on the type of visa you applied for and was denied, i.e. whether it was a temporary or permanent visa. There are three entities that you can contact to make an appeal for visa denial: case processing centre (CPC), Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) or Federal Court of Canada.
It would be in your best interest however to get proper guidance about who and how to approach such a matter, that which an immigration lawyer or specialist can oblige.
In most cases professional assistance is strongly advisable to not worsen the situation
Re-applying after a refusal is a tricky task that requires deep understanding of the situation, so professional assistance is strongly recommended. Based on experience, self-represented applications after refusals rarely result in a positive decision.
It’s wise if instead you focus your efforts on identify a reputable immigration lawyer who will effectively assess your specific immigration case to put you in a beneficial position to resolve your particular issues.
Receiving positive decision after a refusal is difficult and will take time and effort
Re-applying after a refusal often involves an extensive amount of work - obtaining additional documents, preparing written arguments, performing legal research to quote legislation and case law among a set of other tasks. This will take time and will require the efforts of both the legal representative and the applicant.
In short, the appeal process starts with filing the appeal, which may or may not be allowed and this consequently will determine the outcome. So it is important that you make every effort to build a solid case before taking on a refusal appeal.
The approach, time and costs depends on the particulars of the case
There is no common solution for all refusal-related cases. Refusals may require different approaches, vary in volume of work and attract different costs. The first step in most cases is to request a detailed extract from an application file, then determine the scope of work required, the success rate and costs involved.
If a self-represented application was refused, it is likely that the work required to rectify the problem would be greater and as such will carry higher fees. So in attempting to take a cost effective route in acquiring your visa on your own, it may end up costing you more.
If you got refused and strongly willing to re-apply, contact us anytime
We will do our best to maximize your chances of being approved for a visa to Canada.