How much time do I have to file for leave to apply for judicial review?
Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the deadline to file a leave application for judicial review is 15 days after the person is notified of the decision if the matter arose inside Canada, and 60 days if the matter arose outside Canada. Both are strict, short statutory deadlines, and they run from the date of notification of the decision, not from some later, more convenient date.
These deadlines are not generally extended without a specific request and a genuine reason, and given how short they are, especially the 15-day period for matters arising in Canada, there is very little room to delay once a decision is received. Anyone considering judicial review needs to move immediately, gathering the decision, reasons, and relevant documents right away rather than waiting to decide whether to proceed.
Because a missed deadline can end the matter entirely, confirming which of the two periods applies to a specific decision, and calculating it correctly from the actual date of notification, should be one of the very first steps taken after receiving an unfavourable decision.
Key takeaways
- The leave application deadline is 15 days for decisions arising in Canada, 60 days outside Canada.
- Both deadlines run from the date the decision is communicated, not a later date.
- Extensions are not automatic and require a specific request with a genuine reason.
- Act immediately upon receiving a decision; there is very little time to spare.