CoPR Expired - Judicial Review?

[SarunasB]

Hello Fellow Dreamers,

I am in an interesting situation and I am seeking some advice so I can make a final decision on how to proceed.

Some facts (may not all be relevant but trying to paint the full picture).

Submitted Application: June 2019
Invite: June 2019
CoPR issued: December 2019
CoPR validity: May/June 2020 (cant remember exact date but not relevant)
Bought tickets to travel to Canada: May 2020

Now as you all know, this was the fairly early days of the pandemic and all travel was closed. The instructions from IRCC at the time was to inform IRCC if you are unable to travel within your CoPR validity and await further instructions. I did this before the expiry of my CoPR. IRCC acknowledged and said to inform them of when I am able to travel. There were no deadlines or any other instructions given at the time.

Fast forward to January 5 2021. I receive this exact email from IRCC:

Are you able to travel to Canada soon? Please reply to this email within 10 days if you are able to travel to Canada soon and meet the conditions below. January 5, 2021 Application number: Dear client, Our records at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) indicate that: Your permanent residence application was approved. The date of issue on the confirmation of permanent residence (CoPR) document that was sent to you and your family members, if applicable is on or before March 18, 2020. You and your family members, if applicable, have not used your CoPR to enter Canada. The validity date on your CoPR (i.e. the date by which you needed to travel to Canada) has passed and your document has therefore expired. Based on your specific case details and as an exceptional response to COVID-19, IRCC was able to extend your medical exam validity; your medicals now expire on May 12, 2021. IRCC wants to confirm that: You still want to travel to Canada to become a new permanent resident; please note that IRCC is not asking you to purchase a plane ticket. You are ready, willing, and able to travel before the current expiry date of your medical exams, in your case, May 12, 2021. This validity may not be further extended, without you re-doing all immigration medical exam(s) and covering the cost for them. You are ready, willing, and able to travel to Canada on a valid passport by May 12, 2021. There are no COVID-19 restrictions to prevent you from leaving your country. There is a travel route with zero or one transfer that you can use to get to Canada and that is currently operating. Your plan is to stay in Canada permanently. You are able to arrange and cover the costs to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Canada. If you fulfill all the conditions above, please reply to this email at ircc.in-rroc-corr-ri.ircc@cic.gc.ca within 10 days and answer the questions using the response letter template below to help us better understand your situation. Please respond to this email ONLY if you are sure that you could travel to Canada soon. Please note that if new travel documents are issued to you, IRCC will send you a letter that will be valid for up to 60 days (but not exceeding your medical or passport validity), and it may not be possible for IRCC to issue you with another extension. IRCC will endeavour to respond to you within four weeks. Sincerely, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

At the time, there were still travel restrictions in place both in my country as well as Canada and I could not make a permanent move before the noted date in the email therefore I followed the instruction in the email - Only respond if you can travel by May 12 2021, I couldn't, therefore I did not respond. Rightly or wrongly, I assumed there will be some kind of next round of follow ups or inform IRCC when I am able to travel and new instructions will be issued.

Fast forward again to December 2022. I am now in a position to make the move to Canada in the near future. I submit a webform to inform them as such. 6 months go by without a response (I did follow up a few times with webforms during the 6 months but only got generic responses).

It's now June 2023. I decide to call IRCC and get to the bottom of this situation.

Get through to an agent who tells me the following after looking at my file:

My file was closed in May 2022 as IRCC did not receive a response from me to the email sent in January of 2021. I cannot appeal the decision and the only option is to submit this case to federal court for a judicial review.

I understand that it has been a very long time but Covid really made a huge mess of the whole situation. I guess my only issue with all this is that there doesn't seem to be a clear process followed from IRCC throughout all this and there was never any communication about deadlines or my file closure. Even when my file was closed, I was not notified.

Looking through the facts, it seems that I may have a case however I am not sure if it is worth the expense and the effort? From what I read, Judicial Reviews do not overturn the decision and best case scenario would be that IRCC go through the decision making process again which I am not sure would yield a different outcome.

Based on your experience or if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you submit the case for federal review (Cost wise I understand is a minimum of $2500 CAD and probably much much higher). Is there possibly another avenue I could follow other than a Judicial Review? Any mileage in speaking to another agent?

Thanks

PS

I am about 2 weeks into the 60 days I have to submit an application to federal court.

 

[scylla]

Hello Fellow Dreamers,

I am in an interesting situation and I am seeking some advice so I can make a final decision on how to proceed.

Some facts (may not all be relevant but trying to paint the full picture).

Submitted Application: June 2019
Invite: June 2019
CoPR issued: December 2019
CoPR validity: May/June 2020 (cant remember exact date but not relevant)
Bought tickets to travel to Canada: May 2020

Now as you all know, this was the fairly early days of the pandemic and all travel was closed. The instructions from IRCC at the time was to inform IRCC if you are unable to travel within your CoPR validity and await further instructions. I did this before the expiry of my CoPR. IRCC acknowledged and said to inform them of when I am able to travel. There were no deadlines or any other instructions given at the time.

Fast forward to January 5 2021. I receive this exact email from IRCC:

Are you able to travel to Canada soon? Please reply to this email within 10 days if you are able to travel to Canada soon and meet the conditions below. January 5, 2021 Application number: Dear client, Our records at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) indicate that: Your permanent residence application was approved. The date of issue on the confirmation of permanent residence (CoPR) document that was sent to you and your family members, if applicable is on or before March 18, 2020. You and your family members, if applicable, have not used your CoPR to enter Canada. The validity date on your CoPR (i.e. the date by which you needed to travel to Canada) has passed and your document has therefore expired. Based on your specific case details and as an exceptional response to COVID-19, IRCC was able to extend your medical exam validity; your medicals now expire on May 12, 2021. IRCC wants to confirm that: You still want to travel to Canada to become a new permanent resident; please note that IRCC is not asking you to purchase a plane ticket. You are ready, willing, and able to travel before the current expiry date of your medical exams, in your case, May 12, 2021. This validity may not be further extended, without you re-doing all immigration medical exam(s) and covering the cost for them. You are ready, willing, and able to travel to Canada on a valid passport by May 12, 2021. There are no COVID-19 restrictions to prevent you from leaving your country. There is a travel route with zero or one transfer that you can use to get to Canada and that is currently operating. Your plan is to stay in Canada permanently. You are able to arrange and cover the costs to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in Canada. If you fulfill all the conditions above, please reply to this email at ircc.in-rroc-corr-ri.ircc@cic.gc.ca within 10 days and answer the questions using the response letter template below to help us better understand your situation. Please respond to this email ONLY if you are sure that you could travel to Canada soon. Please note that if new travel documents are issued to you, IRCC will send you a letter that will be valid for up to 60 days (but not exceeding your medical or passport validity), and it may not be possible for IRCC to issue you with another extension. IRCC will endeavour to respond to you within four weeks. Sincerely, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

At the time, there were still travel restrictions in place both in my country as well as Canada and I could not make a permanent move before the noted date in the email therefore I followed the instruction in the email - Only respond if you can travel by May 12 2021, I couldn't, therefore I did not respond. Rightly or wrongly, I assumed there will be some kind of next round of follow ups or inform IRCC when I am able to travel and new instructions will be issued.

Fast forward again to December 2022. I am now in a position to make the move to Canada in the near future. I submit a webform to inform them as such. 6 months go by without a response (I did follow up a few times with webforms during the 6 months but only got generic responses).

It's now June 2023. I decide to call IRCC and get to the bottom of this situation.

Get through to an agent who tells me the following after looking at my file:

My file was closed in May 2022 as IRCC did not receive a response from me to the email sent in January of 2021. I cannot appeal the decision and the only option is to submit this case to federal court for a judicial review.

I understand that it has been a very long time but Covid really made a huge mess of the whole situation. I guess my only issue with all this is that there doesn't seem to be a clear process followed from IRCC throughout all this and there was never any communication about deadlines or my file closure. Even when my file was closed, I was not notified.

Looking through the facts, it seems that I may have a case however I am not sure if it is worth the expense and the effort? From what I read, Judicial Reviews do not overturn the decision and best case scenario would be that IRCC go through the decision making process again which I am not sure would yield a different outcome.

Based on your experience or if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would you submit the case for federal review (Cost wise I understand is a minimum of $2500 CAD and probably much much higher). Is there possibly another avenue I could follow other than a Judicial Review? Any mileage in speaking to another agent?

Thanks

PS

I am about 2 weeks into the 60 days I have to submit an application to federal court.

IMO the ship has probably sailed and a JD won't be successful.

Which country? Was December 2022 the earliest date that your country opened up to travel? That seems very very late.

 

[SarunasB]

Hi Scylla,

Thanks for your response.

Applied from UK however I am out of the country on a 2 year contract for work. Contract coming to end so planning my next move.

My late response to IRCC was not driven by Covid closures anymore.

Canada was my next move when I initially applied, when I couldnt go because of Covid, I had other opportunities come up, then life happened etc etc.

The only thing that nags me really is that there was a lack of clear communication from IRCC on next steps and deadlines. At least thats how it feels from my side but then again, maybe I am a little subjective.

In summary, had I known that my file will be closed and I will lose all I achieved so far, I would have made plans to get to Canada one way or another, even if it was just a landing to secure PR.

Anyway, your response just confirms what was already in my mind.

Thanks once again!

 

[scylla]

Hi Scylla,

Thanks for your response.

Applied from UK however I am out of the country on a 2 year contract for work. Contract coming to end so planning my next move.

My late response to IRCC was not driven by Covid closures anymore.

Canada was my next move when I initially applied, when I couldnt go because of Covid, I had other opportunities come up, then life happened etc etc.

The only thing that nags me really is that there was a lack of clear communication from IRCC on next steps and deadlines. At least thats how it feels from my side but then again, maybe I am a little subjective.

In summary, had I known that my file will be closed and I will lose all I achieved so far, I would have made plans to get to Canada one way or another, even if it was just a landing to secure PR.

Anyway, your response just confirms what was already in my mind.

Thanks once again!

So my two cents is that the JD has very low chances of succeeding. I don't kow what country you've been in for 2 years, however extensive travel was possible in late 2021 and certainly throughout 2022 for almost all countries. Some countries still had restrictions in place for visitors but leaving was generally much easier and wouldn't have been a barrier for you. As you said, the Dec 2022 was the date you were ready to move to Canada based on personal reasons (i.e. what your contract ended) vs. the earliest date the country you live in now opened to travel. In that case and you didn't act at the earliest opportunity to try to reactivate your COPR but rather when it was convenient for you, so I think you have a weak argument for JD. If you had acted as soon as the country opened up, I think you would have much stronger grounds. But you can certainly try if you are good spending the money. Never know what might happen.

 

[CNP]

I am not an expert, but I went through similar situation.

The email sentence -

You are ready, willing, and able to travel before the current expiry date of your medical exams, in your case, May 12, 2021. This validity may not be further extended, without you re-doing all immigration medical exam(s) and covering the cost for them

Probably hinted that if it was not possible for you to travel by May 12th, IRCC would have asked you to re do medicals. However you were expected to at least reply and not leave it as is (which is why IRCC closed your file).

My case - I received exact same email that you mentioned above (without a deadline of medicals ). I replied that I still wanted to immigrate, the file as re opened and I was asked to redo medicals. Post this a new visa was stamped and a new CoPR was issued.