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Three Things You Likely Don’t But Should Know About How IRCC Assesses Your Study Permit Application

#1 – Your Application is Decided Using a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

It might come as a surprise to you that IRCC utilizes the classic, but with some tech additions, software of Microsoft Excel to decide temporary resident applications.

The Officer essentially provides all the information about a client in a row with several columns (including working notes – more on this later). This allows them to process multiple applications utilizing one screen. There are also multiple clients that make up the constituent rows.

Each column within a row contains information regarding the Applicant’s name, age, purpose of visit, date of receipt of the application, citizenship of the client, and previous travel. It appears that some of this information is pre-assessed by a processing Officer, but much of it comes directly from the IMM forms.

You can see here how the pre-assessment notes show up with respect to the ‘verbose client information.’ Verbose client information appears to be information directly from the forms. This suggests that the pre-assessment plans a significant and important role in an application. While it is seemingly ‘blind’ one can see from the below that if you break it down to age, gender, marital status, and citizenship that many of the personal identifying features that can make a young, single, and mobile woman applicant from Zimbabwe difficult to make to record. The Pre-assessment also shows (based on categories selected) that previous travel and proof of funds continue to be important factors. As such, it is difficult to say if travel history is as ‘neutral’ as the Federal Courts have attempted to establish it is.

Why do they do it this way via excel? Well IRCC claims that officers can increase their processing volume (depending on visa office) anywhere from 5% to 35% using this system.

I would also not be surprised (I am speculating) if the excel-based system allowed also for real-time tracking of statistics. This way a visa office with a refusal target could likely keep track while at the same time processing applications.

 

#2 – Reasons are Templated and Generated After Refusal. They Don’t Have to Refer to Your Original Evidence (their position, not mine)

If one were to think of it logically, or perhaps engage in the exercise themselves, it would make sense to do some sort of a yay/nay list on a chart or table and ultimately decide, based on the facts gathered, whether or not to approve a client. Indeed, while not required, much of immigration (think Ribic factors or the assessment of humanitarian and compassionate grounds) often work on this weighing system.

Such is not necessarily the case with temporary resident refusals. With IRCC’s systems, a decision to refuse or approve is made first, and then a notes generator (read: template generator) is utilized to choose the applicable reasons. The Officer then copies and pastes this into Global Case Management System (GCMS).

While Officers continue to have access to the original documents submitted by applicants, much of the guidance suggests the anchoring point is the excel document – one populated by the aforementioned pre-assessed notes and verbose client information. Officers are very much deciding to approve or refuse simply on an individual’s basic profile. This suggests that whatever is chosen to be extracted from an application, rather than what is actually in the application is most important. Such guidance should serve as a reminder to keep support letters and evidence not only strong, but visible and searchable rather than tucked away on page 12 of a 15 page submission letter.

There are also ‘risk indicators’ and ‘local word flags.’ Risk indicators can capture where there is a trend, for example, of an Office submitting fraudulent information and local word flags, capture words such as ‘wedding.’ I am still researching what the other words are, but we know they depend on what visa office runs them. It would not be a surprise to see more risk indicators and local  I would not be surprised if IRCC is also running OCRs (optical character recognition) or utilizing machine-based decision-makers to flag key words. Yet, looking at the GCMS notes of several recent files, it appears risk indicators and local word flags don’t often appear. What this may suggest, is that the Officers rely more on the pre-assessment, verbose info, and their working notes to render a decision.

Which brings us to the issue of working notes below.

 

#3 Working Notes of Officers (i.e. Where the Factual Analysis Takes Place) are Not Ordinarily Retained

Templated reasons themselves do not (at this stage) need to contain reference to facts in the Application. While IRCC maintains that Officers do have the right to choose not to use them, the reality is any officer facing instructions to process fast and maintain consistency, likely won’t diverge too far from them.

When clients come and find me after a referral, I often hear from them that they believe the Officer ignored evidence or turned a blind eye to something they submitted. Turns out there is likely much more to it.

Officers do have space to maintain working notes in their system, but – and importantly, these notes are not transferred to GCMS for privacy and administrative convenience purposes. IRCC claims that if they were required to manually input Officer’s working notes it would create too much of an admin burden.

Strategically though, this is a brilliant play. If decisions were to include working notes and commentary it would open up the possibility of all sorts of litigation. Thinking back in history, it was the working notes of several Officers that led to such a departmental disaster such as Baker. 

The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Vavilov also supports short, pithy reasons that maintain consistency – essentially what IRCC is trying to do with this system.

The Majority writes at paragraph 77:

[77]                          It is well established that, as a matter of procedural fairness, reasons are not required for all administrative decisions. The duty of procedural fairness in administrative law is “eminently variable”, inherently flexible and context-specific: Knight v. Indian Head School Division No. 19, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 653, at p. 682; Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 S.C.R. 817, at paras. 22-23; Moreau-Bérubé, at paras. 74‑75; Dunsmuir, at para. 79. Where a particular administrative decision-making context gives rise to a duty of procedural fairness, the specific procedural requirements that the duty imposes are determined with reference to all of the circumstances: Baker, at para. 21. In Baker, this Court set out a non-exhaustive list of factors that inform the content of the duty of procedural fairness in a particular case, one aspect of which is whether written reasons are required. Those factors include: (1) the nature of the decision being made and the process followed in making it; (2) the nature of the statutory scheme; (3) the importance of the decision to the individual or individuals affected; (4) the legitimate expectations of the person challenging the decision; and (5) the choices of procedure made by the administrative decision maker itself: Baker, at paras. 23-27; see also Congrégation des témoins de Jéhovah de St-Jérôme-Lafontaine v. Lafontaine (Village), 2004 SCC 48, [2004] 2 S.C.R. 650, at para. 5. Cases in which written reasons tend to be required include those in which the decision-making process gives the parties participatory rights, an adverse decision would have a significant impact on an individual or there is a right of appeal: Baker, at para. 43; D. J. M. Brown and the Hon. J. M. Evans, with the assistance of D. Fairlie, Judicial Review of Administrative Action in Canada (loose-leaf), vol. 3, at p. 12-54.

(emphasis added)

IRCC is in the process (the part I am not yet at the liberty to discuss as I am assisting in the litigation) of getting judicial endorsement for their choice of process. I can say that if they are successful, and given it is well-established that the impact to foreign nationals (such as students is on the low end), this could serve as a rubber stamp. Such a process would make future judicial reviews much more difficult if the Courts find that templated reasons do not need factual reference. Furthermore, refusal letters could simply that the Applicant’s evidence was insufficient and leave it to their counsel, Department of Justice, to build up a justification after the fact.

 

Caution: Expect GCMS Notes to Thin at the Detriment to Your Client’s Knowledge of the Case to Be Met

What does this all practically mean for your run of the mill temporary resident applicant. Well – expect GCMS notes to say less and less and for the bulk of the information to be retained on IRCC’s ‘internal’ system. It is also likely moving forward (and that we’ve already seen in some cases) nothing in the notes for when procedural fairness letters are sent. This will make it very difficult to respond, especially where procedural fairness letters are so broadly worded. This could make the process much less transparent and lead to many more misrepresentation finding (as just one example).

 

Bonus: A Little Gratitude

I want to thank again, my incredible colleague Zeynab Ziaie for her advocacy and supporting our efforts to learn more about the way IRCC operates. I have purposely not included anything in this piece that may be subject of our litigation and is not already publicly accessible. We may be writing more about this shortly.

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Five Things I Wish International Students Knew Before Applying for Canadian Study Permits

Setting the Scene: Where We Are At and Where We Are Going

I have been struggling with this post – to capture the experiences of the many prospective clients/international student applicants who have entered our door of late asking about their study permits, more specifically why they have been refused, delayed, or found inadmissible for misrepresentation.

Remedies are both a huge time commitment and often times a big corresponding financial commitment. In thinking about how I could input myself into the process (in a helpful way) I thought about writing a post where I take those experiences of all the international students who come see me to try and remedy their refusals and summarize it into five (likely oversimplified, but deeply important) points. These points are important both for international students to protect themselves (be it emotionally, financially (from those all-too-eager to exploit), or even just to help plan their futures during tumultuous times.

We all know the starting point: Canada has become an increasingly attractive study destination especially compared to other countries. While international tuition is still what I personally believe to be dangerously high, it is comparatively cheaper to study in Canada than many other Five Eyes countries. Our immigration options for international students also provide much more flexibility around work while studies, post-graduate work permits, and work permits for accompanying dependents.

We also know that COVID, as my colleague Lou Janssen Dangzalan uncovered through a recent ATIP request, has had a major detrimental effect on study permit applicants.

This has impacted overall refusal rates:

If we look at the two largest international student generating countries – India and China, we see the impact in terms of the change in approval rates:

The stark numbers of how many less study permits were issued in 2020 (granted the data is not entirely complete) cannot be ignored:

For the time being, new restrictive and frankly, confusing, policies such as IRCC’s rule on accompanying dependents of international students (for example discrepancy between: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/students.html#family or https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/students.html#family) along with the new quarantine rules are a signal the Government wants to get through the vaccine phase before admitting too many more international travellers (including international students).

This is my theory about where post-COVID recovery will ultimately go:

With this in mind, we have a timeframe of a few months for most international students to consider carefully their next move. Perhaps, for some, it may even be re-evaluating. I would not throw caution into the wind. Whether you are the paying parent of an international student who insists they ‘got this’ or if you are the international student, wondering what your agent (who is very likely being paid more by your school than by you) doing.

Without further ado, here are the five things I wish international student knew before applying for a study permit in Canada.

 

Thing 1: Be Very Intentional and Careful About the School/Programs/Immigration Advisors You Choose 

Not all schools are treated by Canadian immigration (“IRCC”) the same. There are schools with excellent reputations, many of them being public/higher-level institutions. There are others that have not-so-good reputations – perhaps being smaller private colleges that often take students with lower academic accomplishments. These lists are also not static. Many schools on both sides of the aisle have taken steps and/or hits. Do some research on the reputation of the school.

Be also intentional about where you study. A Visa Officer may have questions already about where you are coming from (see Thing 3 below) and wonder why you are going to a particular Province and that particular school.

As an Applicant you need to be able to make a business case for this: that likely should go beyond the access to permanent residence pathways. As I discussed in this post, dual intention has been utilized as a buzzword but it packs a complex case for meeting the R.216 IRPR requirements to demonstrate you can leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay.

If you are a student from a refusal-producing country (i.e. the statistics, which are accessible if you look hard enough, demonstrate most applicants are being refused), I would suggest it becomes more important  to demonstrate that your studies are bona fide. If you receive scholarships or are entering a level of education that is considered a major upgrade to your education, these are factors that can assist towards maximizing your chances of success. I use the word chance very specifically.

There are no guarantees anymore in the area of international student immigration law/policy.

Be also very aware an intentional about the systems operating around you.

These systems include your family members (what your parents want for you, siblings, other family in Canada).

They include the Designated Learning Institutions (“DLIs”) which have a mandate to protect their own interests. If they refer you to someone (as institutions do to me) it is very fair to ask them why this individual. Be due diligent. This definitely includes agents who say they can do your immigration work for 100 or 200 dollars without disclosing that they are neither authorized immigration representatives (and therefore ask you to sign your own forms) or that they are making a 1/3rd of your tuition back as their finders/placement fee.

This extends to banks/creditors who might be financing your studies for their various reasons but perhaps willing to bend rules and documentation to assist you. Don’t underestimate immigration’s own access to finding out whether a document provided is genuine or not. Same goes with language tests, that are increasingly under scrutiny for fraud prevention.

If you are applying, as most are, from outside Canada know too that immigration fraud unfortunately does exist and if there are red flags (agents who claim they have connections or apparently bizarre correspondence between them and the visa office) take action. Many applicants can save their own situation by seeking a withdrawal (either with or without new counsel) and/or an opportunity to correct the record before it is discovered. Check and ask to see every document that leaves your hands, including making sure that they are submitted in the form you want them to be submitted.

Be very intentional, careful, alert, and aware to the profit industry that is international education and your own role in the system. The more control and guidance you have over your own situation, the better you will be able to rationalize the outcome and prepare for your experiences in Canada.

 

Thing 2: Get to Know Your School Registrar and International Student Advisors Really Well

Get to know the school registrar.

Why?

You may need to defer studies depending on processing times and your own ability to obtain documentation. You may need to ask for refunds or for further letters. Make sure you have direct contact with the registrar and do not over rely on an agent or third-party who may not have your best interests in mind.

Get to know the RISIAs and RCICs who often work for the schools.

RISIAs stand for Regulated International Student Immigration Advisors and RCICs are Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants. These individuals are often employed by Universities and Colleges to assist with international students. A flag for you may be how few resources the school may have for international students. Schools that have more international student support, more resources, tend to be better positioned both in terms of achieving student approvals but also to help once you are here. This is of underestimated importance. When you become an international student, you must navigate leaves, full-time student status, and post-graduate work permit eligibility, events and occurrences that are very crucial to your success and eventual pathway to permanent residence.

Each DLI (and often each departments) has their own policies surrounding how much they can help out, particularly for applicants who are overseas. I tend to find that students who receive scholarships or are attending specialized programs do get specialized treatment. Some DLIs even assign certain staff to focus just on these programs. This may be crucial, especially in light of a first stage refusal that requires reconsideration or a re-application, with school support. Good DLI RISIAs and RCICs have single-handedly been able to make an impact for students, by providing additional letters of support, explanation, or even a referral to a Member of Parliament that can change one’s prospects.

The better the relationship you can build with them and start fostering early on, the better it is. Again, do not rely on your agent or educational consultant, who has a very different end goal and outcome from being that liaison (getting paid off your end enrollment, with payouts depending on the school you attend and their agreement with them).

 

Thing 3: There Are Constraints on Approving Your Application That Are Outside Your Control and Highly Irrational

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About Us
Will Tao is an Award-Winning Canadian Immigration and Refugee Lawyer, Writer, and Policy Advisor based in Vancouver. Vancouver Immigration Blog is a public legal resource and social commentary.

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