Weekly Digest | August 24, 2025

Key Highlights:

Recent Case Law

Family Class – Amalraj v. Canada, 2025 FC 1398: Sri Lankan applicant applied for PR sponsored by spouse. Sponsor obtained PR in 2011 as a dependent child but failed to disclose his prior civil marriage to applicant, making her ineligible under IRPR 117(9)(d). Applicant sought H&C exemption, citing cultural misunderstanding of civil marriage, family opposition, father’s suicide, long separation, and hardship in Sri Lanka. Officer refused. Court held officer reasonably weighed H&C factors against misrepresentation, and provided sufficient justification. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Quebec Investor Class – Liu v. Canada, 2025 FC 1392: Chinese applicant applied for PR under Quebec Investor Class with a CSQ. Officer questioned intent to reside in Quebec. Despite submitting a business and settlement plan, applicant had only one day visit to Montreal, gave vague responses on housing and business, and had not studied French. Officer refused under IRPR 90(2). Applicant alleged breaches of fairness (lack of interpreter, no notice of concerns) and unreasonableness. Court found no breach, held officer’s reasoning transparent and justified, and upheld refusal. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Temporary Resident Visa – Mirrajaby v. Canada, 2025 FC 1395: Iranian mother and son applied for TRVs to visit spouse/father in Canada. Officer refused using boilerplate reasons: insufficient finances, inconsistent with temporary stay, and doubts host could support them. Court found refusal unreasonable, as officer ignored detailed financial documents and failed to justify findings. Time for intended trip had passed, but applicants could reapply. Judicial review granted. Read more

Misrepresentation – Misra v. Canada, 2025 FC 1385: Bangladeshi applicant applied for LMIA-based work permit. Submitted contradictory Bank Asia documents showing inflated balance. Officer issued PFL; consultant responded without addressing discrepancies. Officer refused and found misrepresentation under IRPA 40(1)(a). Court held fraudulent alteration was evident, officer’s findings reasonable and procedurally fair. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Humanitarian & Compassionate – Ryazantseva v. Canada, 2025 FC 1403: Russian applicant applied for PR on H&C grounds, citing establishment in Canada and BIOC of two Canadian-born children. Officer refused, giving limited weight to establishment and finding insufficient hardship evidence. Applicant argued officer used a “silo-ed” approach and failed to assess BIOC properly. Court held officer considered all factors cumulatively, reasonably assessed children’s circumstances, and provided transparent reasoning. No serious shortcoming identified. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Family Class – Stifanos v. Canada, 2025 FC 1391: Canadian sponsor married in Catholic Church in Germany. Officer refused sponsorship, as only civil marriages valid in Germany. IAD dismissed appeal, declined to convert to conjugal partner (Tabesh conversion) due to lack of evidence and delay. Court held IAD acted within discretion and properly found marriage invalid for sponsorship. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Family Class – Williams v. Canada, 2025 FC 1396: Canadian sponsor appealed refusal of spousal sponsorship. IAD found marriage likely entered primarily for immigration purposes under IRPR 4(1), despite evidence it may have become genuine later. Applicant argued IAD failed to balance genuineness with primary intent. Court held IAD reasonably weighed the evidence, found weak pre-marriage relationship, and applied the regulatory test correctly. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Upfront Medicals for Express Entry: As of August 21, 2025, Express Entry applicants must include an upfront medical examination when applying for permanent residence. IRCC has updated the completeness check and medical exam instructions. During the transition, applications filed without medicals should not be rejected as incomplete. Read more

Yukon Receives Additional YNP Allocations for 2025: The Government of Yukon secured 67 extra allocations from IRCC, raising its 2025 total to 282. This follows advocacy on behalf of employers and allows more invitations from the Expression of Interest (EOI) pool, with 13 reissued due to earlier withdrawals. Of 500+ eligible EOIs received in April, nearly 400 met priority criteria (one year in Yukon, Yukon University graduates, Francophone, or Temporary Measure Letter holders). Ten allocations are reserved for regulated health care positions until September 30, 2025, after which they return to the pool. Most new invitations will be sent in August. Read more

September 1, 2025: Study permit financial requirements increase, now necessitating proof of CAD $22,895 for one applicant (excluding tuition) and higher amounts for accompanying family members. Read more