Weekly Digest | February 1, 2026

Key Highlights:

Recent Case Law

Temporary Resident Visa – Fazlalizadeh v. Canada, 2026 FC 142: TRV refused on a third redetermination following prior settlements. The Minister conceded the decision was unreasonable. The Court set it aside and ordered expedited redetermination, rejected allegations of discrimination or bias, and declined costs for lack of special reasons. Judicial review granted. Read more

Humanitarian and Compassionate – Singh v. Canada, 2026 FC 123: H&C application refused where the officer minimized establishment and family ties, misapprehended key evidence including the applicants’ time in Canada and Greece, drew illogical health inferences, and improperly discounted hardship and country condition evidence. The Court found the analysis not responsive to the record and unreasonable. Judicial review granted. Read more

Temporary Resident Visa – Zhang v. Canada, 2026 FC 124: TRV refused for insufficient funds and lack of temporary intent. The officer failed to engage with contradictory evidence and the reasons lacked sufficient detail to support the findings. The Court set aside the decision and remitted to a different officer. Judicial review granted. Read more

Humanitarian and Compassionate – Hayles v. Canada, 2026 FC 119: H&C application refused despite evidence of establishment and a minor child’s learning disability. The officer failed to address the disability, did not conduct a global assessment of risk factors, and provided an unclear BIOC analysis. The Court found the reasons unintelligible and insufficiently responsive. Decision unreasonable. Judicial review granted. Read more

Citizenship – Canada v. Yaghi, 2026 FC 112: The Minister challenged a citizenship grant based on alleged inconsistencies in physical presence evidence. The Citizenship Judge assessed credibility, questioned gaps, and reasonably weighed the record. The Court deferred to those factual findings and upheld the decision. Judicial review dismissed. Read more

Ukraine PDIs Updated – January 28, 2026: IRCC removed outdated Ukraine measures and consolidated guidance under post-CUAET instructions. Read more

Family-Based Permanent Residence Pathway – Sudan – January 30, 2026: IRCC updated instructions under the temporary public policy facilitating permanent residence for certain foreign nationals affected by the conflict in Sudan with family in Canada, applying only to applications received on or after February 25, 2025. Read more

Interim Federal Health Program – Co-Payments Introduced – January 27, 2026: Effective May 1, 2026, IFHP beneficiaries must pay $4 per prescription and 30% of the cost of other eligible supplemental benefits, including dental, vision, counselling, and assistive devices; basic physician and hospital services remain fully covered, with co-payments intended to manage demand and maintain program sustainability. Read more

Immigration Enforcement and Border Integrity 2025 – January 26, 2026: CBSA reported enhanced immigration enforcement in 2025, including the removal of nearly 22,000 foreign nationals for breaches of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (over 1,000 for serious inadmissibility), 40,693 inadmissible persons refused or withdrawn at land borders, security screening of more than 80,950 asylum claimants, and 7,037 travellers prevented from boarding Canada-bound flights due to invalid documentation. Read more

IMM 5373: Sponsorship Undertaking and Settlement Plan – Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH): Read more

February 28, 2026: Temporary Public Policy for Iranian nationals in Canada ends. Read more and Read more

March 31, 2026: Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET) temporary public policy expires. Read more and Read more and Read more

March 31, 2026: Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) work permit eligibility extension expires under the updated program guidelines. Read more