A 28-year-old man with temporary residence in B.C., has forced the federal immigration department to reverse its decision to deny him a work permit extension under a special program for Francophone candidates.
New Canadian Media reported the story on May 16 quoting Sahil (a pseudonym to protect his identity so he could discuss his case candidly), as saying that the denial was based on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) finding that he had never lived in a Francophone country, or ever studied in the French language. Sahil had scored well in the French listening and speaking ability skills as assessed by the Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF).
The rejection letter from the immigration department said: “[C]lient never live [sic] in a French country or studied in French.”
The former Langara College student took the government to court last April and has now secured an extension on his work permit and after a four-month gap, he has gone back to his job.
Sahil’s lawyer, Steven Muerrens, who had filed an appeal before the federal court, confirmed the details of the decision.
“We filed the application for judicial review on April 21, and the matter settled on July 7 when the Department of Justice agreed to have the decision set aside and the application reconsidered,” Muerrens said.
“The process likely would have moved more quickly but for delays in obtaining a federal court file number, which occurred during a period when the court was experiencing resource and administrative challenges that were publicly reported.”
In a statement emailed to NCM, Muerrens said: “IRCC don’t explicitly acknowledge their mistake, however, it is reasonable to infer from the fact that they settled the matter that they believed that the decision was problematic.”
Sahil was not the only applicant who received rejection on these grounds.
Said Briannah Dale, IRCC’s senior communications advisor, in an emailed response: “Where concerns are identified with a decision, the Department can review the circumstances and, where appropriate, reconsider the decision in accordance with the applicable legislation and program requirements.”
Asked if IRCC officers are penalized for such errors, Dale said, “It is important to note that IRCC has an integrated network of offices that allows work to be shared across the department as needed.
“Depending on the application and operational requirements, processing may involve more than one officer and an application may be transferred between processing centres to support efficient processing.”
Vancouver-based immigration lawyer Miguel Martins Pereirinha, said that IRCC’s budget cuts could become a cause for delays in the coming years.
“I’m finding, at least in my practice, that certain Express Entry applications that previously took four or five months to reach a decision are now getting closer to a year,” he said, adding he has noted increased scrutiny by IRCC officers of applications he submits, including reviewing previous applications for discrepancies.
Aadya Arora is a Vancouver-based journalist interested in covering immigration, labour and women's stories as well as exploring Canadian nation-building practices.
