Canada's new project to streamline review process for rejected study permits: Eligibility, how to apply?

If your Canadian study permit was rejected, you may soon benefit from Canada’s new Study Permit Pilot Project launching on October 1. This initiative aims to expedite the judicial review process for rejected study permit applications, potentially ...

By ET Online | Sep 28, 2024, 10.03 AM IST

If you are someone whose Canadian study permit was rejected, then you may soon benefit from the country's latest pilot project.

Set to be launched on October 1, Canada’s Federal Court has announced the Study Permit Pilot Project, designed to streamline the process of requesting judicial review of rejected study permit applications, as per CIC News report.

Under the Pilot, people who apply for leave and judicial review of their study permit refusals may be able to complete the entire procedure in under five months, rather than the current processing time of 14-18 months. An application for leave and judicial review is a process where an individual seeks permission from the Federal Court of Canada to challenge an immigration decision.

Under normal procedures, a judge first decides whether to grant leave (permission) to an applicant to proceed with judicial review. If this leave is granted, then the case for judicial review is heard and assessed on its merits. Under the new Study Permit Pilot Project, requests for leave and judicial review will be considered at the same time.

There is no additional fee for opting into the project, although filing for leave and judicial review costs $50.

Eligibility:

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)

Applicants for study permits who are applying from within Canada have 15 days from the date they receive a refusal to submit a new application under this initiative. Those applying from outside Canada have 60 days from the date of their 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.

After filing documents, a judge will decide on the application and notify the applicant.

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