Published July 2026 · By Sophia Li, Principal Lawyer · Yu Sheng Law Firm

Most refusal letters are short, generic and unsatisfying. They list a few boxes ticked: not satisfied you will leave Canada at the end of your stay, purpose of visit not consistent with a temporary stay, insufficient funds. They rarely tell you what the officer was actually thinking.

That is the first problem to solve, because you cannot choose a remedy until you know the real reason.

Step one: get the real reasons

The officer's internal working notes, commonly called GCMS notes, usually contain the actual reasoning: which document was doubted, which inconsistency was noticed, whether an officer suspected something was not genuine. They are obtained through an access to information request.

There is one caution. Obtaining notes takes time, and the deadline to challenge the decision does not pause while you wait. If the deadline is close, the application to the Court may need to be filed protectively first.

The clock: deadlines you cannot miss

To challenge a decision in the Federal Court, you file an Application for Leave and for Judicial Review. The time limits are short:

• 15 days for a decision made inside Canada.
• 60 days for a decision made outside Canada.

Extensions are possible but require a separate request with a reasonable explanation, and they are not guaranteed. Missing the deadline is the single most common way a good case is lost before it starts.

How judicial review actually works

Judicial review is not an appeal. The Court is not asked whether it would have decided differently. It asks whether the officer's decision was reasonable and whether the process was fair.

It proceeds in two stages:

One practical point that is often missed: a significant number of these applications are resolved by agreement before the hearing, when Department of Justice counsel reviews the file and concludes the decision cannot be defended. A well drafted application does work even when it never reaches a judge.

When reapplying is the better choice

Litigation is not always the right answer. Reapplying is often better when:

• The refusal was substantively correct on the material you filed. The officer was not wrong; the file was thin.
• You can now fix the gap: better proof of funds, clearer ties, a properly explained travel history, a stronger letter of employment.
• Your circumstances have genuinely changed.
• Speed matters more than principle, and a fresh application is realistically faster.

When judicial review is the better choice

• The officer ignored evidence that was squarely before them.
• The officer misapplied the law or applied a requirement that does not exist.
• The reasons are internally contradictory or simply do not follow from the record.
• You were denied procedural fairness, for example a credibility concern that you were never given a chance to answer.
• There is a misrepresentation finding. This one is different, and it is dealt with below.

The misrepresentation exception

If you were refused under section 40 for misrepresentation, the calculus changes completely. A misrepresentation finding normally carries a five year bar on entering Canada, and it follows you into every future application.

Other routes worth knowing

• Reconsideration request. Asking the office to look again. Cheap and fast when there is an obvious error, but entirely discretionary and often ignored. It does not stop the Federal Court clock.
• Appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division. Available for certain matters such as sponsorship refusals, removal orders and residency obligation decisions. Where an IAD appeal exists, it is usually the better route because the IAD can hear fresh evidence.
• Answering a procedural fairness letter. The best outcome is preventing the refusal. If you receive a fairness letter, treat it as urgent and serious.

Choosing: a simple framework

1. Get the notes and find the real reason.
2. Ask: was the officer wrong or unfair, or was my file weak?
3. If wrong or unfair, and there is no IAD appeal, judicial review is likely the route.
4. If the file was weak and fixable, reapply with the gap properly closed.
5. If there is a misrepresentation finding, get advice before doing anything at all.

Common mistakes

• Reapplying immediately with essentially the same package, producing a second refusal that makes the pattern look worse.
• Letting the 15 or 60 day deadline pass while waiting for notes.
• Treating a fairness letter as routine correspondence.
• Retaining someone who cannot appear in Federal Court. Only lawyers can.
• Filing a reconsideration request and assuming it protects your rights. It does not.

Frequently asked questions

Book a refusal assessment   See our refusals and judicial review service →