the official deciding your case has reason to believe you’ll stay in Canada beyond your authorized stay
you’re inadmissible to Canada
Some of the factors that the officer will use in deciding whether you would leave Canada at the end of your stay
as a temporary resident are:
Your international travel history
Your immigration status in country of residence
Your family ties in Canada and in country of residence
Length of your proposed stay in Canada
Purpose of your visit
Your employment prospects in country of residence
Your current employment situation
Your personal assets and financial status
If you have applied to come to Canada for business purposes, whether your purpose is legitimate
Your history of contravening the conditions of admission, if any, on a previous stay in Canada
The officer could also refuse your visitor visa application if:
He is not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated
purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to leave Canada at the end of your
authorized stay
You did not provide sufficient documentation to support your / your host's income and assets.
You submitted documentation which lacks authenticity as part of your application. This diminished the
overall credibility of your submission.
You did not comply with his request for information, documents, medical examination, or/and an interview
He is not satisfied that you answered all questions, in the application or during the interview,
truthfully
Your application may also be refused if you are inadmissible to Canada on security grounds, on grounds of
violating human or international rights, on grounds of serious criminality, criminality, or organized
criminality, on health grounds, or due to past misrepresentation which barred you from Canada.
The above is not an exhaustive list. What complicates the process of applying for a visitor visa is that
applications may get refused for reasons not listed or identified in the guide. The evaluating officer may
choose to reject your application without seeking any additional documents, information, or clarifications.
WHAT OPTIONS DO I HAVE IF MY APPLICATION IS REFUSED?
After the refusal of a visitor visa application, the applicant has three options:
Request Reconsideration
You may contact the immigration officer via the IRCC Web Form or email and request for
reconsideration. Explain why you believe you deserve reconsideration. Present any documents that support your
request for reconsideration. The officer is not obligated to entertain such a request. Immigration officers tend
to ignore the majority of requests for reconsideration, but if it goes through, they may decide to reopen your
case.
Judicial Review by the Federal Court of Canada
You can file an application for Leave (permission) and for Judicial review if the visa officer made
an error of law: misinterpreted the law, applied the wrong legal test, ignored the evidence, breached a
principle of procedural fairness et cetera; made an error of mixed fact and law: misapplied the law to facts; or
made an error of fact: incorrectly interpreted presented evidence.
Judicial review is a time-consuming and expensive process. It can take up to twelve months for the
matter to be finally heard and decided by the judge. Even then, the judge does not have the authority to modify
the decision or approve the visitor visa. If you get a favourable ruling, your application will be taken up by a
different visa officer who must consider the judge’s views when deciding upon the application. The new officer
will not repeat the original mistake. However, there is no assurance that the new officer won’t unfavourably
interpret another rule or requirement. Practically the opportunity to visit may have passed.
Submit a New Application
Refusal of visitor visa becomes part of your record with IRCC. The new application must explicitly
rectify the reasons for which IRCC refused the first application. If the rejection communication does not
indicate the reason in detail, then the applicant can seek the reasons in writing through an Access to
Information and Privacy (ATIP) request. Officially, these requests must be processed within 30 days, although it
can take much longer than that. Even then, there is no guarantee that the officer’s written reasoning will be
detailed enough to assist the re-application process.
When submitting a new application after a previous refusal, you should include a submission letter
that presents important facts that address and overcome reasons for refusal. Where necessary, the submission
letter should also include case law from the Federal Court to address unfair reasons for refusal like your lack
of travel history, your strong ties to Canada, you not likely to return home, etc.
NEED HELP?
Get in Touch if
you have been refused a Visitor Visa and need more information about your options. We can help you in requesting
a reconsideration of your refusal or/and submission of a new application
REASONS FOR VISITOR VISA REFUSAL
Your application may be refused because:
Some of the factors that the officer will use in deciding whether you would leave Canada at the end of your stay as a temporary resident are:
The officer could also refuse your visitor visa application if:
Your application may also be refused if you are inadmissible to Canada on security grounds, on grounds of violating human or international rights, on grounds of serious criminality, criminality, or organized criminality, on health grounds, or due to past misrepresentation which barred you from Canada.
The above is not an exhaustive list. What complicates the process of applying for a visitor visa is that applications may get refused for reasons not listed or identified in the guide. The evaluating officer may choose to reject your application without seeking any additional documents, information, or clarifications.
WHAT OPTIONS DO I HAVE IF MY APPLICATION IS REFUSED?
After the refusal of a visitor visa application, the applicant has three options:
Request Reconsideration
You may contact the immigration officer via the IRCC Web Form or email and request for reconsideration. Explain why you believe you deserve reconsideration. Present any documents that support your request for reconsideration. The officer is not obligated to entertain such a request. Immigration officers tend to ignore the majority of requests for reconsideration, but if it goes through, they may decide to reopen your case.
Judicial Review by the Federal Court of Canada
You can file an application for Leave (permission) and for Judicial review if the visa officer made an error of law: misinterpreted the law, applied the wrong legal test, ignored the evidence, breached a principle of procedural fairness et cetera; made an error of mixed fact and law: misapplied the law to facts; or made an error of fact: incorrectly interpreted presented evidence.
Judicial review is a time-consuming and expensive process. It can take up to twelve months for the matter to be finally heard and decided by the judge. Even then, the judge does not have the authority to modify the decision or approve the visitor visa. If you get a favourable ruling, your application will be taken up by a different visa officer who must consider the judge’s views when deciding upon the application. The new officer will not repeat the original mistake. However, there is no assurance that the new officer won’t unfavourably interpret another rule or requirement. Practically the opportunity to visit may have passed.
Submit a New Application
Refusal of visitor visa becomes part of your record with IRCC. The new application must explicitly rectify the reasons for which IRCC refused the first application. If the rejection communication does not indicate the reason in detail, then the applicant can seek the reasons in writing through an Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) request. Officially, these requests must be processed within 30 days, although it can take much longer than that. Even then, there is no guarantee that the officer’s written reasoning will be detailed enough to assist the re-application process.
When submitting a new application after a previous refusal, you should include a submission letter that presents important facts that address and overcome reasons for refusal. Where necessary, the submission letter should also include case law from the Federal Court to address unfair reasons for refusal like your lack of travel history, your strong ties to Canada, you not likely to return home, etc.
NEED HELP?
Get in Touch if you have been refused a Visitor Visa and need more information about your options. We can help you in requesting a reconsideration of your refusal or/and submission of a new application