- Judicial review is not a rehearing of your case.
- Before a judicial review can proceed on the merits, you must first apply for leave — the Federal Court's permission to bring the case forward at all.
- A leave application generally needs to identify the specific legal or procedural errors you say the decision-maker made — not simply express disagreement with the outcome.
Most refused immigration decisions in Canada — a denied visitor visa, a refused study or work permit, most refused permanent residence applications — cannot be appealed on the merits. Instead, the available recourse is an application for leave to commence judicial review at the Federal Court, and it comes with a strict, short deadline that starts running the moment you receive written reasons for the refusal.
This two-stage process trips people up because it doesn't work like an ordinary appeal, and missing the initial deadline can close the door entirely. Here's how it actually works.
What Judicial Review Is (and Isn't)
Judicial review is not a rehearing of your case. The Federal Court doesn't re-decide whether you should have been approved — it reviews only whether the original decision was made in a legally and procedurally sound way. If the Court finds it wasn't, the usual result is that the matter goes back for redetermination by a different decision-maker, not that the Court substitutes its own approval.
This matters for expectations: even a successful judicial review doesn't guarantee your original application will ultimately be approved. It generally means you get another, fairer decision, not an automatic win.
Stage One: Applying for Leave
Before a judicial review can proceed on the merits, you must first apply for leave — the Federal Court's permission to bring the case forward at all. This is a genuine screening step, not a formality, and the Court refuses a meaningful number of leave applications without ever reaching the merits.
Under IRPA's judicial review provisions (s.72), the deadline to apply for leave is strict:
| Where the matter arose | Deadline to apply for leave |
|---|---|
| In Canada | 15 days from the date you receive written reasons for the decision |
| Outside Canada | 60 days from the date you receive written reasons for the decision |
These figures are current as of mid-2026 and come directly from the statute, but confirm them with a lawyer before you rely on the exact count for your own deadline — how the clock starts running can depend on specific facts about when and how you received notice.
Because this deadline is so short, the practical reality is that you often need to retain a lawyer and begin preparing the leave application almost immediately after a refusal, not after you've had time to fully process the decision.
What Goes Into a Leave Application
A leave application generally needs to identify the specific legal or procedural errors you say the decision-maker made — not simply express disagreement with the outcome. This typically involves:
- Obtaining the tribunal's record and reasons for the decision
- Identifying the specific legal or procedural grounds for review
- Preparing supporting materials (affidavits and a memorandum of argument) within the Court's required format and timelines
- Filing within the applicable 15- or 60-day window
A leave application that simply restates why you disagree with the outcome, without pointing to a specific legal or procedural flaw, is unlikely to succeed at this first stage.
Stage Two: The Judicial Review Itself
If leave is granted, the matter proceeds to a full judicial review hearing. At this stage, the Court examines the record and hears argument on whether the original decision was legally and procedurally sound. As at the leave stage, the Court is not reweighing the underlying facts of your immigration case from scratch — it's assessing the legality and fairness of the process that led to the decision under review.
What the Federal Court Can and Can't Do
- The Court can find that a decision was legally or procedurally flawed and send it back for a new decision.
- The Court generally does not substitute its own decision for the original decision-maker's — a successful review typically means a redo, not an automatic approval.
- The Court cannot grant status, a visa, or permanent residence directly through a judicial review decision.
Judicial Review vs. an Appeal
| Judicial review (Federal Court) | Appeal (e.g., sponsorship refusals to the IAD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Available for | Most refused temporary and permanent resident decisions | Refused sponsorship applications, brought by the sponsor |
| First step | Apply for leave — the Court's permission is required | No separate leave stage; the appeal proceeds directly |
| What's reviewed | Legality and procedural fairness of the decision | Can include a fuller reconsideration, depending on the type of appeal |
| Typical result if successful | Sent back for redetermination | Can result in the appeal being allowed outright, depending on the case |
Only some categories of refusal — notably sponsorship refusals, which the sponsor can generally appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division within a short, strict deadline — have this appeal route available at all. Everything else generally routes through judicial review instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is judicial review the same as an appeal?
No. An appeal (where available, such as for a refused sponsorship) can involve a fuller reconsideration of the case. Judicial review is narrower — the Federal Court examines only whether the original decision was legally and procedurally sound, not whether it was the best possible decision on the facts.
What happens if leave is denied?
If the Federal Court denies leave, the judicial review process ends there for that decision — there is no further appeal of a leave refusal. This is part of why the leave application itself needs to be built carefully around specific legal or procedural grounds.
Can I stay in Canada while my judicial review is pending?
In some circumstances you may be able to request a stay of removal while a leave application or judicial review is pending, but this isn't automatic and depends heavily on your specific circumstances and timing. Get legal advice immediately if removal is a concern alongside your judicial review.
Do I need a lawyer to apply for leave and pursue judicial review?
It isn't legally mandatory, but Federal Court judicial review is a formal court process with strict procedural rules and an unforgiving deadline. Given how much rides on a well-built leave application, most applicants are far better served working with an experienced immigration lawyer from the moment they receive a refusal.
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