Having the Federal Court review the decision

If a tribunal or an officer refused your file — a Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) decision, a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA), a humanitarian application — you can ask the Federal Court to review that decision. This is called judicial review. For decisions made inside Canada, the deadline to file is 15 days (to be verified — IRPA s. 72(2)).

What judicial review is — and is not

Judicial review is not a new hearing and not an appeal on the merits. The Court does not decide whether you are a refugee. It decides whether the decision was made legally and reasonably: did the decision-maker apply the right law, respect fairness, and reach conclusions the evidence can support. If the Court agrees the decision was flawed, it sends the file back to be decided again, by a different decision-maker.

The leave requirement

Judicial review in immigration matters happens in two stages. First, the Court must grant leave — permission for the case to be heard. This stage is decided on the written record alone. Only if leave is granted does the file move to a hearing before a judge. The written arguments filed at the leave stage therefore carry most of the weight.

The deadlines

The application for leave must be filed within 15 days (to be verified — IRPA s. 72(2)) of receiving the decision, for matters arising inside Canada. The file must then be perfected — the complete record with affidavit and written argument — within 30 days (to be verified — Federal Courts Rules). Extensions can be requested, but they must be justified and are never automatic.

Only a lawyer can represent you

At the Federal Court, only a lawyer — a member of a provincial or territorial bar — can represent you. Immigration and citizenship consultants cannot appear before the Court, even if they handled your file at earlier stages. This is not a preference; it is how the Court works. If your consultant's file was refused, the next step requires a lawyer.

If leave is refused — and if it is granted

A refusal of leave is generally final: there is no appeal from it, and the underlying decision stands. That finality is why the leave materials deserve full effort the first time. If leave is granted, the hearing before a judge follows some months later, and a successful outcome means the decision is quashed and your file is redetermined — with the Court's reasons framing how. Redetermination is a genuine second chance, made by a different decision-maker who must respect what the Court said.

Judicial review and removal

Filing for judicial review does not always stop a removal by itself. Whether your removal is paused depends on the type of decision under review and on your situation. When it is not paused automatically, a lawyer can bring a stay motion — an urgent request asking the Court to suspend the removal until the case is decided. See the page on stays of removal.

What I do

I review the decision and the record to identify the legal errors that can support an application. I draft and file the application for leave, prepare the affidavit and the memorandum of argument, and plead the case at the hearing if leave is granted. Where a removal date is involved, I prepare the stay motion. I am a lawyer, a member of the Barreau du Québec, and my practice is federal: I represent clients anywhere in Canada, in English, French or Spanish.

If you have received a refusal and are counting days, let's talk about it.