The federal court has ruled that the immigration minister cannot be forced to keep Canada visa applications open.
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24 May 2012
Cancelled Canada visa case quashed
Hundreds of potential migrants have had their hopes dashed after a federal court ruled that their Canada visa applications could be closed legally.
More than 800 Canada visa applicants had tried to sue the federal government in an attempt to force the government to keep their applications open before March's budget bill passes.
In Canada's federal budget, the government announced they would be returning almost 300,000 visa applications, along with CA$130 million (£81.5 million) in refunds, in an effort to eliminate a growing backlog of applications.
While it is hoped that the elimination of the backlog will allow the Canadian immigration system to become more response to the needs of the labour market, the move angered hundreds of applicants who felt they were being unfairly punished despite following procedure correctly.
One Toronto-based immigration lawyer said he had been inundated with calls from a growing number of rejected applicants and lodged the first case with the federal court.
The case sought to seek an injunction against Immigration Minister Jason Kenney which would force the immigration department to keep the visa applications open while the case is in court.
However, the federal court judge said yesterday he had no authority to force Mr Kenney to keep the applications open and labelled their request devoid of merit.
A spokesperson for Mr Kenney said they were pleased with the outcome and that the judge had reached a decision that was not unexpected.
The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent migration consultancy specialising in helping people make their application to the Canadian Embassy.
