When your application has been sitting for months or years with no answer, mandamus asks the Federal Court to order a decision. Here is how it actually works.
Few things are harder than waiting with no end in sight. The processing time on the website passes. Then it passes again. Your emails produce the same automated reply. Meanwhile a job offer expires, a child starts another school year apart from a parent, or a spouse waits in another country.
When a Canadian immigration application is delayed far beyond what is reasonable, you are not powerless. A remedy called mandamus asks the Federal Court of Canada to order Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to make a decision.
Mandamus is an order from the Federal Court directing a government decision-maker to perform a legal duty it has failed to perform. Here, that duty is to decide your application within a reasonable time.
It is also worth knowing that only a lawyer can bring this application. Mandamus is brought in the Federal Court of Canada, where licensed immigration consultants have no right of audience.
The Court looks for a set of conditions. In plain language:
This is the heart of the case, and there is no single magic number. The Court generally asks three things:
What counts as unreasonable depends heavily on the type of application. A visitor visa and a complex permanent residence file with security screening are not measured by the same yardstick. Published processing times are a reference point, not a legal standard.
If you are challenging a refusal, you face a short clock: generally 15 days to file for a decision made inside Canada, and 60 days for one made outside Canada.
Mandamus is different. Because no decision has been made, those limits do not apply in the same way. That said, sitting on your rights indefinitely can be raised against you, so this is not a reason to keep waiting quietly.
We review the file, confirm nothing is outstanding on your side, and write to IRCC formally demanding a decision.
If the delay continues, we file an Application for Leave and for Judicial Review at the Federal Court.
In many cases IRCC finalises the decision after filing and before any hearing. If not, the matter proceeds before the Court.
That third step surprises people. A large proportion of mandamus applications never reach a hearing, because once the file lands on the desk of the Department of Justice and IRCC has to explain the delay in writing, the application often gets decided. Filing itself is frequently what breaks the logjam.
There is no fixed number. It depends on the application type and the circumstances. Delays well beyond published processing times are usually where the analysis starts.
No. It compels a decision, not a positive one. If a refusal follows, that refusal can be challenged separately.
Not in the same way as for a refusal, because no decision exists yet. But unexplained delay on your side can still be raised against you.
No. Only a lawyer may represent you in the Federal Court.
Fees depend on complexity. We provide a transparent quote after assessing your file.
Immigration, family, corporate or cross-border. We will tell you honestly what can be done, and what cannot.
Book a Consultation当申请递交后数月甚至数年杳无音讯，强制令可请求联邦法院责令移民局作出决定。这篇讲清它到底怎么运作。
最难熬的，是看不到尽头的等待。官网上的审理时间过去了，再过去一次。发去的邮件换来同一封自动回复。与此同时，工作offer过期了，孩子又开始了一个与父母分离的学年，配偶还在国内等着。
当加拿大移民申请的延误远远超出合理范围时，您并非无计可施。一种称为强制令(Mandamus)的救济，可请求加拿大联邦法院责令移民局(IRCC)作出决定。
强制令是联邦法院发出的命令，责令政府决策者履行其未履行的法定职责。在此，这项职责就是"在合理时间内就您的申请作出决定"。
另外需要知道：只有律师才能提出此类申请。强制令在加拿大联邦法院提出，持牌移民顾问在该法院没有出庭权。
法院会审查一系列条件。用平实的话说：
这是案件的核心，并没有统一的时间标准。法院通常会问三个问题：
是否"不合理"，很大程度取决于申请类型。访客签证与涉及安全审查的复杂永居案件，不能用同一把尺子衡量。官网公布的审理时间只是参考，不是法律标准。
如果您要挑战的是一份拒签决定，时限很紧：境内作出的决定一般为 15 天内提出，境外作出的为 60 天内。
强制令则不同。因为尚未作出任何决定，上述时限并不以同样方式适用。但也要提醒：长期不主张自己的权利，仍可能被对方援引对您不利，所以这不是继续默默等待的理由。
审阅案卷，确认您这边没有任何待办事项，并正式致函移民局要求作出决定。
若延误持续，向联邦法院提交"许可及司法复议申请"。
许多案件在立案后、开庭前，移民局便已作出决定；如未作出，则进入法院程序。
第三步常常出乎当事人意料。相当比例的强制令案件从未走到开庭，因为一旦卷宗到了司法部律师手里、移民局必须书面解释延误原因，申请往往就被处理了。很多时候，"立案"这个动作本身就是打破僵局的关键。
没有固定数字，取决于申请类型与具体情形。通常远超官网公布审理时间时，才开始进行分析。
不会。它带来的是"一个决定"，而非"批准"。若随后是拒签，可另行提出司法复议。
不像拒签那样受15/60天限制，因为尚无决定存在。但您这边无故拖延，仍可能被援引对您不利。
不能。只有律师才能在联邦法院代理您。
视复杂程度而定。我们会在评估案卷后提供透明报价。