Overcoming a Canadian TRV Refusal: Key Reasons & Solutions

Overcoming a Canadian TRV Refusal: Key Reasons & Solutions

Introduction

Receiving a notification of refusal for your Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or visitor visa application to Canada via your IRCC portal can be disappointing. However, a refusal from IRCC is not the final obstacle on your path. By comprehensively understanding the grounds for refusal, you can effectively navigate your next steps. 

In today’s blog post, we will outline the various concerns that might motivate your refusal. Preliminarily, we will address the critical importance of accessing the entirety of your decision’s reasons, which go beyond the refusal letter’s content.

The importance of obtaining your full refusal’s reasons

As highlighted in our earlier discussion, the visa officer responsible for your TRV application refusal provides detailed notes explaining their decision to deny rather than approve your visa. It's crucial to obtain these notes, particularly in cases where the refusal is based on multiple factors that may not be immediately obvious. Understanding the officer's insights can shed light on the nuances of your application's assessment and is essential for formulating a strategic response to overcome the refusal.

While Visa officers enjoy wide discretion in their decision to accept or refuse a visa application, they are required to be reasonable in their reasons for doing so. That means that the reasons for the decision must be justified, and intelligible by Canadian law. A decision’s failure to be reasonable can be grounds for its overturning thanks to judicial review, a legal option that we have discussed in previous blog articles. We will now examine the various grounds that may have led to your TRV application’s refusal, depending on the content of your refusal letter and the GCMS notes.

General grounds for refusals - inadmissibility

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), which is the main law regulating Canadian immigration and visa status admissibility, several grounds for inadmissibility apply to all applications, including but not limited to TRV applications. These grounds, which lead to a refusal decision, will be outlined in the following sections, and are as follows: (1) security, (2) Human or international rights violations, (3) criminality, (4) organized criminality, (5) health grounds, (6) financial reasons, (7) misrepresentation, (8) non-compliance with the IRPA and (9) inadmissible family member. Applicants who were found inadmissible may request a Temporary Resident Permit or Ministerial Relief. 

Security

Section 34 of the IRPA dictates that individuals engaged in activities that compromise the safety of Canadians are not admissible to enter Canada. Acts of espionage or terrorism, or membership of organizations that are engaged in such acts, are indicators of security grounds for inadmissibility to Canada, which applies to TRV applicants.

Human or international rights violations 

Similarly, violations of human or international rights by prospective applicants constitute grounds for inadmissibility under the regime of section 35 of the IRPA. 

Criminality

Furthermore, under s. 36 of the IRPA, criminal history can potentially constitute grounds for inadmissibility. That said, depending on the crime of which a prospective applicant was convicted of, the sentence served and the time that elapsed since that sentence, it may be possible for him or her to enter Canada after all if the applicant applies for rehabilitation as part of their application.

Organized criminality

Section 37 of the IRPA specifically prohibits applicants who are involved in organized crime from entering Canada

Health grounds

Health grounds, which include danger to the public but also individuals who are expected to cause excessive demands on health or social services, are a barrier to entry and constitute grounds for inadmissibility under section 38 of the IRPA.

Financial reasons

Applicants can be also inadmissible for financial reasons if they are unable or unwilling to provide financial support for themselves or they demonstrate that arrangements have been made for the obtention of financial support, as per the requirements of s. 39 of the IRPA. This ground for inadmissibility is more so relevant for immigration programs where a requirement for financial support is present.

Misrepresentation

Under section 40 of the IRPA, applicants who have directly or indirectly withheld or misrepresented facts (through submitted information or documents), can be potentially found inadmissible for 5 years on grounds of misrepresentation. The serious sanction for applicants who are found to have engaged in misrepresentation highlights the importance of truthfulness in your TRV application. 

Non-compliance with the IRPA

Furthermore, non-compliance with the IRPA is grounds for inadmissibility, as per section 41 of the IRPA. This can be relevant when a specific legal requirement is violated, such as the requirement of staying in Canada for a certain number of days to maintain permanent resident status.                                                                                                                                               

Inadmissible family member(s)

Finally, by section 42 of the IRPA, an applicant can be inadmissible on grounds of an inadmissible family member if said family member is accompanying and is inadmissible on grounds of security, human or international rights violations, criminality, or organized criminality.

TRV-specific grounds for refusal – ineligibility 

Besides the general grounds for inadmissibility, an applicant reading IRCC’s refusal letter may come to find out that he or she does not meet the program-specific requirements of the IRPA and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). One of the primary reasons for TRV refusal is the visa officer's skepticism regarding the applicant's intention to leave Canada at the end of their stay. A refusal based on ineligibility will most often read like this:

I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as required by paragraph 179(b) of the IRPR (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2002-227/section-179.html). I am refusing your application because you have not established that you will leave Canada, […]

The relevant portions of s. 179 read as follows:

179 An officer shall issue a temporary resident visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national

[…]

(b) will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay under Division 2;

In the context of s. 179 of the Canadian immigration regulations, individuals applying for a TRV are required to demonstrate that they have compelling reasons to return to their home country after their visit to Canada concludes. The officer undertakes an evaluation of the push and pull factors that might impact the applicant’s intent to respect the law. As such, when a visa officer decides that the applicant failed to meet that requirement, they will base their decision (in the letter and the notes) on said factors. In this section, we will explore these factors and what they entail, so that you can better understand the possible reasons for a refusal.

Purpose of Visit

If the visa officer is not convinced about the legitimacy or clarity of your visit's purpose, your application may be refused. Depending on your purpose of visit, it is critical to show the visa officer that your reason to visit Canada is logical and makes sense. Providing detailed itineraries, invitations from Canadian hosts, or enrollment in short-term courses can clarify your intentions and establish your intent to return home and respect the conditions of your stay. 

Family Ties to Home Country

Your family ties to your home country or Canada are of relevance in establishing your intent to respect the conditions of your stay. This can manifest in the evaluation of accompanying family members in comparison to those who will stay in your home country and Canada. 

Imagine an applicant planning a trip to Canada with their spouse and children to visit relatives. In a scenario where they lack close family ties in their home country, this situation might present challenges under paragraph 179(b). The lack of immediate family members remaining in their home country could potentially weaken their application, as it may raise questions about their strong connections to return after they visit Canada.Top of Form

Assets and Financial Ties to Home Country

Applicants seeking entry into Canada must demonstrate they possess sufficient financial resources to support themselves and any dependents throughout their stay. Failure to convince immigration officials of one's financial stability or the capability to afford the visit can lead to an application refusal. Positively, assets such as property ownership, a consistent employment record, or owning a business can strongly support the case for an applicant's likelihood to return to their home country.

However, the scrutiny by visa officers involves nuanced assessments, notably within the bank statements submitted to verify financial readiness. A detailed six-month transaction history is crucial in this assessment. An absence of this history, or evidence of a sudden large deposit, can adversely affect an applicant's chance of success, as it raises questions about the consistency and reliability of their financial status.

Travel or Immigration History

Finally, the last factor that is often considered is that of travel or immigration history. Visa officers look at your travel history to assess your compliance with immigration laws and your ability to return from abroad. Applicants who have a rich travel history to visa-strict countries have generally stronger cases, while those who have a history of contravening the conditions of stay do not.

Conclusion: How to know why my decision was refused?

As we have established throughout today’s blog article, there are various grounds for a Canadian TRV refusal based on inadmissibility or ineligibility. By reading your refusal letter in conjunction with your officer notes, you will be able to better gauge the strategies that will maximize your success chances, be it reapplying or considering legal options such as judicial review.

If you find yourself unsure of how to proceed following a Canadian TRV refusal or wish to gain a better understanding of the reasons behind the decision, we highly encourage you to schedule a consultation with our experienced team at Canadian Future. We specialize in navigating visa refusals and can provide personalized guidance to help you chart the best path forward for your journey to Canada.

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