If your client gets a work permit refusal for his/her application, you still have options. Under Canadian immigration law, the Federal Court can review decisions related to immigration if the clients are eligible to appeal to the Federal Court of Canada. It is important to act quickly as appeals have strict deadlines that an appellant must follow. A lawyer must apply for judicial review of work permit refusal on client’s behalf. If the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) has rejected a claim for refugee protection, an application must be filed to ask for a Federal Court review within 15 days after the IRB was issued. Negative decisions from the Refugee Appeal Division (IRB) can be ONLY appealed to the Federal Court.

How does the Federal Court review the work permit refusal?

The Federal Court review goes through two stages. In the first stage (“leave” stage) the Federal Court reviews the documents that are related to your client’s case. The options for your client are either show that the decision was unfair or unreasonable or an error appeared in the decision. If the Court agrees to examine a decision in depth, the second stage (“application for judicial review”) is next. So a client and a lawyer can attend an oral hearing before the Federal Court and explain why they believe the initial decision was wrong.

If a lawyer has sent a request for review to the Federal Court, the Federal Court automatically puts a removal order on hold. The applicant can stay in Canada until the Court makes a decision.

A lawyer usually argues the client’s case before the Federal Court. The Federal Court can either agree with the decision that was made before hearing or return the case to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) to be reviewed. But it does not mean that the original decision will be reversed.

If there is no error in initial work permit refusal, an applicant must leave the country within 30 days. It means he/she is under a removal order.