See the results in less than 5 months under this new pilot
The Federal Court has launched a pilot project to streamline the judicial review of rejected student visa applications.
Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton said the pilot project will not require a hearing and will allow judges to rule on leave and judicial review simultaneously.
“This will be a win-win for applicants, who will save significant time and costs, and for the Court, which will save scarce judicial and registry resources,” he said in a statement.
Who is eligible?
Students may be eligible for the Study Permit Pilot Project if they applied for a study permit, and received a letter of refusal from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Other criteria include:
- Both the prospective student (the Applicant) and IRCC opting in to the pilot project;
- Both parties agreeing on the underlying facts, as evidenced by the application materials submitted to IRCC by the Applicant, including the full reasons for the IRCC decision;
- The facts/issues of the case—either the initial study permit application, the refusal from IRCC, or both—being straightforward (e.g. no factual or legal issues of inadmissibility or national security and no request for a certified question);
- The applicant not needing to request an extension of time to file the Application for Leave;
- The parties not using affidavit evidence (affidavits are used to introduce new evidence, which is not permitted under this new pilot project)
Study permit applicants applying from within Canada, have 15 days from the day they received their study permit application refusal to apply under this new initiative. Applicants applying from outside Canada, have 60 days from the day they receive their study permit application refusal to apply.
How to apply
All documents have to be filed online using the court’s electronic filing system. To opt in, applicants have to file an application for Leave and Judicial Review using Form IR-1,and mention the Pilot Project in three specific places of the application. More details can be found here.
After filing documents, a judge will decide on the application and notify the applicant.