Several Federal Court decisions have discussed membership in different Palestinian organizations and whether they give rise to inadmissibility. Most recently, in Shala v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1561, Madam Justice McDonald ruled that there was insufficient evidence that membership in the Palestinian Authority equates to membership in Hamas ..read more

This episode is a historical deep dive on Order in Council PC 1911-1324, an Order in Council from 1911 which stated that for a period of one year black people would not be permitted to immigrate in Canada because the Canadian government deemed them unsuitable to Canada’s climate. Borderlines · History Episode 1 – Order in Council PC 1911-1324 – The Law to Ban Black Migration to Canada ..read more

The following chart shows asylum claims by international students broken down by DLI from 2018 to 2023. Asylum By School ..read more

There are not many reported decisions on mandamus in the study permit context. In Chen v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 885, Madam Justice Aylen found that IRCC did not have a sufficient rationale for delays in processing a study permit application, but ruled that the Applicant did not demonstrate that she would incur significant prejudice. A significant factor in this was that the application was for a study permit. Madam Justice Aylen wrote: However, notwithstanding these deficiencies in the Respondent’s evidence, I am not satisfied that the Applicant has demonstrated th ..read more

The following are standard operating procedures for the Canadian visa office in Bagota for work permit pre-assessment. Colombia ..read more

On November 1, 2026, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (“IRCC”) published its Supplementary Information for the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan (the “Immigration Levels Plan”).  Under the Immigration Levels Plan, the target for new permanent residents to Canada for 2024 is 485,000.  This number will increase to 500,000 in 2025.  The permanent resident target will then stay the same in 2026. The Immigration Levels Plan contains a detailed breakdown of planned admissions in several categories. What is somewhat remarkable is that not only will the overall admissions fr ..read more

There is growing jurisprudence involving study permit applications by minors. Purpose of Study There is somewhat mixed jurisprudence involving how specific a minor’s rationale to study in Canada must be. In Ahmadi v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1208, Justice Gleeson stated that a visa officer refusal did not engage with the following: In this instance, the PA’s application detailed a series of reasons for pursuing the PA’s grade 4 education in Canada. The reasons advanced in the application explained that: (1) studies outside of Iran were viewed as beneficial to the PA ..read more

Many applicants for various types of applications will request that family letters provide reference letters. The Federal Court has repeatedly held that visa officers should not discount reference letters from family and friends. For example, in n Magonza v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2019 FC 14, Justice Grammond wrote: [44] Immigration decision‑makers have on a number of occasions discounted evidence provided by members of the family of an applicant, for the sole reason that these persons, having an interest in the well‑being of the applicant, would have a propensity to make false s ..read more

The following two charts show study permit approval rates based on DLI and based on country of citizenship for 2022. DLI Approval Country SP Approval ..read more

Section 42(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides: Inadmissible family member 42 (1) A foreign national, other than a protected person, is inadmissible on grounds of an inadmissible family member if (a) their accompanying family member or, in prescribed circumstances, their non-accompanying family member is inadmissible; or (b) they are an accompanying family member of an inadmissible person. Jurisprudence In Kolawole v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2023 FC 1384, an individual’s permanent residence application was refused because her husband was inadmissible to ..read more