Applying for a tourist visa (Temporary Resident Visa) to Canada should be a simple, painless, and fair process. But these days, it’s far from that.

You must creatively challenge the system when denied reasonable access to fair, impartial treatment by an immigration officer to visit Canada. 

How do you stay calm when someone seemingly higher up the food chain arbitrarily says no to your visa request? It’s not easy!

This is especially true when your request is well within the eligibility criteria of your humble desire to explore a great country (I’m biased), abide by the rules, and then return home.

My guy Ibrahim submitted a solid Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) visa application and was oddly refused!

It was a devastating blow, as his temporary stay was part of a larger plan to explore a skilled worker, international student, or family class application in an attempt to lawfully immigrate to Canada, become a citizen, and contribute to our society.

The Ideal

Newcomers bring their heritage, culture, talent, ideas and perspectives. For over a century, immigration has been a means to support the population, economic, and cultural growth in Canada. Millions of eligible people worldwide have chosen to reside in Canada and make it their new home. Whether seeking better economic opportunities, reuniting with family members, or seeking protection as resettled refugees or other protected persons, newcomers to Canada have been a significant source of ongoing growth and prosperity. Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

The reality

The quote above paints a rosy picture. However, the government’s admission system contains significant flaws.

Like many people from less developed countries, Ibrahim faces adversity to overcome what we often take for granted. — equal access to create a better life that matters.

If you have an ounce of empathy (I’ll assume you do), you’ll cringe at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles non-heterosexual couples must endure living together. — the same rights and privileges most mortals take for granted every day. (many stories for another time)

Why was he denied?

This writing is about Ibrahim’s Tourist Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) to Canada from Bangladesh, hosted by his Canadian partner.

I’ll never forget the day we got the bad news.

Hello Daniel and Ibrahim, We have received the decision, and unfortunately, the application has been refused. We are disappointed to receive the refusal; however, there is an option to challenge the decision at the Federal Court. This consists of filing legal submissions arguing why the decision is unreasonable.

WTF!!!

Ibrahim and I were shocked! We planned this part of our journey for over a year and were optimistic. The denial felt like a death blow, as if a loved one had died in a tragic accident. This was a tragedy!

We cried our eyes out for days.

There was no reasonable explanation for the refusal.

“I don’t think the people behind these visa decisions appreciate the profound impact their highly subjective, sometimes whimsical decisions have onthe lives of visitors, let alone their Canadian hosts.”

We must help those who can’t easily advocate for themselves. We are one big connected species.

Fairness is a rare commodity these days. So, for anyone’s self-respect and dignity, we must challenge the systems that pin us down, no matter how expensive, awkward, or time-consuming.

Always speak truth to power.

Having the courage to stand up for what’s right and tell people in charge what’s what. That’s the idea behind the phrase speak truth to power, an expression for courageously confronting an authority, calling out injustices on their watch — Dictionary.com.

But what if…?

What if a tourist comes here, gets married in Canada, and then applies for permanent residency? Did they trick the government? — Of course NOT!

We are a democracy: It’s common for tourists to visit a country, get married, and apply for permanent residency, as long as they do so honestly (a legitimate relationship). And they intend to contribute to the greater good of our land (99.9% do).

For permanent residency, immigration assesses whether it’s a bona fide (in good faith, without deception or fraud) relationship.

However, an immigration officer can not reject a tourist visa based on the undocumented assumption that the applicant might get married, stay, and apply for permanent residency.

If they suspect such a factor, they must state so in their refusal decision and case evaluation notes.

Visa officers are obligated to present documentation as evidence of their decision when asked. These notes (or lack thereof) are critical for an immigration lawyer to craft a redetermination appeal/response.

In Ibrahim’s case, there was no suspicion on any issue or the notion that he would get married and then apply for permanent residency. So, one can’t use warm, fuzzy pics of him and me bonding on Instagram as material evidence. — — catch my drift?

A come to Allah moment.

Here’s the reality… We will fight the system and never give up until the visa is granted. Our lives depend on it. We’re fighting for our rights and freedoms, and no, girl, I’m not being overly dramatic. This is life and death.

Have you ever been in a situation where NO was not a viable response? Yet, regardless of the price to pay, you must fight back — your David and Goliath moment.

The story is an inspiring example of how the plucky underdog could defeat someone much bigger than him against the odds. Source: Interesting literature

The legal process for him.

The first option to get a “refused” visa application approved is to appeal the adverse decision.

In this case, we believe there might be evidence to suggest the immigration officer made a mistake in refusing the application.

Generally speaking, an incorrect visa refusal may be due to the immigration officer:

• Stepping outside of their jurisdiction (doubt it)
• Acing unfairly (likely)
• Or, in an extreme case, broke the law. (not likely)

There’s no way to know if the immigration officer crossed the line on these points.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to appeal to the Federal Court of Canada (also called a Judicial Review). Sadly, this means going through an expensive judicial review process.

What would you do in this case? You have nothing to lose and only justice and fairness to gain.

Another option after an appeal is to request that immigration reconsider the visa application. Again, it’s in our best interest to request reconsideration.

Reconsiderations could be due to citing misinterpreted information. This is where a seasoned immigration lawyer ensures we submit all correct supporting documents and relevant information in our compelling response to arrive at a favourable decision.

Finally, after the two options listed above are exhausted, we can reapply with a new application, but only after ensuring we resolve the reasons for refusing the first submission.

Honestly, I don’t think it will come to submitting a new visa application, and Ibrahim will eventually get his visa.

Please don’t insult me.

Someone said to me the other day. “It must be nice to waste money fighting the government for your new boyfriend….. Canada has the right to refuse entry to anyone.”

— — are you kidding me!!?!

I almost slugged him for his arrogance but forgave him for his pure ignorance — oh, pity the stupid who walk among us!

Canada is not China?

I told him, “No one wants to waste thousands on legal fees, but what choice do we have? How much do you ‘waste’ on your kids, dog, or wifey-pooh?” (I sarcastically said)

Over the years, I’ve seen the importance (and good results) of speaking truth to power. If we don’t, who will stand up for what’s right?

We live in a thriving democracy, not an authoritarian party dictatorship like China. But unfortunately, too many innocent folks face the same unfair issues.

By challenging the government, we shed light on systemic barriers and hopefully drive positive change.

At least Ibrahim and I sleep at night, satisfied that we tried our best that day and will leave no stone unturned until the job is done.

One day, we’ll look back and chuckle at how we creatively overcame adversity.

Thanks for listening

In fairness,

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