What are the options if your Immigration Application Is Rejected in Canada?
Every year hundreds of thousands of people apply to immigrate to Canada. Of those, some are rejected. Many people who have worked hard putting together their applications feel dejected if their application is denied. They often lose hope thinking that nothing can be done and that the result was out of their control. This, however, is often not the case and there are things that can be done in order to re-ignite the immigration process.
If your immigration application is rejected what options do you have? The first thing to do if your application is rejected is to closely read and get an understanding of the reasons for the rejection. Do the reasons seem legitimate? More importantly, are the reasons ones which can be addressed by you in a subsequent application?
Oftentimes applications are rejected because the application package, including accompanying materials, was improperly prepared. When an immigration officer assesses an application he or she must follow immigration rules as they pertain to that particular application. If, for example, you are applying to come to Canada as a skilled worker then look very closely at the criteria and requirements for skilled workers because it is precisely those criteria that the officer is assessing the application against. Break down the requirements into their components and then ask yourself whether your application materials comprehensively addressed each component of the criteria. When people honestly evaluate whether they addressed each component of the criteria, they often realize that they didn’t even though they could have.
If it does appear that you did address the criteria then you can explore the possibility of appeal or judicial review. For this you will likely need to talk to an experienced immigration lawyer. This process, however, can be long and costly. If you do talk to a lawyer it might be worth it to talk to more than one and see whether their opinons on the chances of success deviate from one another.
Another option is to reapply taking closely into consideration the reasons for the rejection and properly addressing all of the reasons with new application materials. Occasionally the reasons for the failure are ones that can be easily addressed. For example, if the reason for the failure is that you didn’t provide certain documents that you have in your possession (as such as a proper reference letter) then this may be remedied quickly and easily. Sometimes, however, addressing the reasons may require more time. An example here would include re-taking an English language test and putting time into preparing for the test.
Lastly, it can be useful to look beyond the program that you applied under and determine whether you might qualify under another program that you had not thought of in the first place. It’s easy to get caught up with one particular path and not realize that it isn’t the only possibility. If, for example, you applied as a skilled worker and got rejected, look at other options such as applying through a provincial skilled worker program or even applying for a study permit to do a short 2 year program while simultaneously working during your studies and opening up the door to getting PR status after graduating from the program.
The key thing to understand is that if you do find yourself in the situation of being rejected, a useful exercise is to conduct a clearheaded analysis of your situation and decide upon the best course of action available to you. Many of the immigrants currently living in Canada only became Canadians on their second or third attempts to immigrate to Canada.