It is not a refusal. It is a chance to change the outcome, and usually the last one you will get. How you use it matters enormously.
A procedural fairness letter, often shortened to PFL, arrives without warning and reads coldly. It says an officer has concerns about your application, sets out what those concerns are, and gives you a short window to respond.
Clients often react in one of two ways. Some panic and send a long emotional explanation the same evening. Others assume it is routine paperwork and reply with a few lines. Both instincts are wrong, and both can be expensive.
Canadian administrative law requires that before an officer decides against you on a concern you could not reasonably have anticipated, you must be told about it and given a chance to respond. The PFL is that mechanism.
The single most important thing is to identify what kind of concern you are facing, because the right response differs completely.
See our separate guide on misrepresentation allegations if that is what you are facing.
The letter states your deadline, commonly somewhere between seven and thirty days. Treat it as firm. An extension can sometimes be requested, with reasons, but it is never guaranteed, and requesting one badly can itself create a poor impression.
The officer decides on the record as it stands. In practice that usually means refusal. If the concern was misrepresentation, silence can result in a finding and a five year bar, which then follows you into every future application.
No. No decision has been made. It is an opportunity to change the outcome.
The letter states the deadline, commonly between seven and thirty days. Treat it as firm.
The officer will decide on the existing record, which usually means refusal. Get advice immediately rather than assuming nothing can be done.
Where authenticity, credibility or misrepresentation is raised, yes. The response is permanent and consequential.
Sometimes that is considered, but it does not always avoid the consequences, and it should never be done without advice.
Immigration, family, corporate or cross-border. We will tell you honestly what can be done, and what cannot.
Book a Consultation它不是拒签，而是一次扭转结果的机会，通常也是最后一次。您如何使用它，影响极大。
程序公正信，常简称 PFL，往往毫无预兆地到来，措辞冰冷。它告诉您：移民官对您的申请存有疑虑，列出疑虑内容，并给您一个很短的回复期限。
客户的反应通常是两种。有人当晚就慌乱地写下长长的情绪化解释；也有人以为只是例行公事，随手回几句。这两种直觉都是错的，而且代价都可能很高。
加拿大行政法要求：当移民官准备基于某项您本无从预料的疑虑对您作出不利决定时，必须先告知您，并给您回应的机会。程序公正信就是这一机制的载体。
最重要的一件事，是判断您面对的是哪一类疑虑，因为正确的应对方式完全不同。
如果您面对的正是这一类，请参阅我们另一篇关于误导性陈述指控的指南。
信中会写明您的回复期限，常见在七天到三十天之间。请把它当作硬性期限。虽然有时可以说明理由申请延期，但绝不保证获准，而且延期申请写得不当，本身就会留下不好的印象。
移民官将依现有卷宗作出决定。实务上，这通常意味着拒签。若疑虑本身是误导性陈述，沉默可能直接导致认定成立并伴随五年禁入，此后跟随您的每一次申请。
不是。尚未作出任何决定，这是扭转结果的机会。
信中会写明，常见为七到三十天。请视为硬性期限。
移民官会依现有材料作出决定，通常是拒签。请立刻咨询，而不要认定已无计可施。
凡涉及文件真实性、可信性或误导性陈述，建议请律师。回复是永久且影响重大的。
有时会考虑这一选项，但未必能避免后果，且不应在没有法律意见的情况下贸然为之。