Refused? What a refusal letter means and your options

Before you read anything else in the letter, find the date it was sent and the date you received it. Write both down.

Some of your options after a refusal have deadlines fixed in law, and they are short. Judicial review at the Federal Court must start within 15 days for a decision made in Canada. A sponsor appealing a family class refusal to the Immigration Appeal Division has 30 days. Those clocks do not wait for you to feel ready or for your file to arrive.

Once the dates are written down, the rest of this guide will help you understand what the letter says and what you can do. It is general information, not advice on your situation.

A refusal letter is IRCC’s formal notice that an officer decided your application. It names the type of application, says it was refused, and lists the grounds.

It is a decision on the application you filed, with the evidence you filed, at that time. It is not always a finding that you are dishonest or that you can never come to Canada. Many refusals come down to missing or unclear evidence that can be fixed.

The exception is when the letter mentions misrepresentation or inadmissibility. Those are findings about you, not just your documents, and they have longer consequences. We cover them below.

Most IRCC refusal letters follow the same structure.

Your details and file number. Check that your name, date of birth and application number are right.

The decision. A sentence saying your application has been refused, often citing a section of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) or its Regulations (IRPR).

The grounds. For temporary resident applications, these are often shown as a list, with the reasons that apply to you marked. For permanent residence and sponsorship, the reasons are usually written out in paragraphs.

Next steps. Some letters mention appeal rights, especially sponsorship refusals. Many visitor and study permit letters do not mention any options. That does not mean you have none.

Since July 29, 2025, IRCC has included an officer decision note with refusal letters for most temporary resident applications. That includes visitor visas, super visas, transit visas, visitor records, study permits and work permits, including extensions. It does not include eTAs or temporary resident permits.

The note is written by the officer who made the final decision. It explains why your application was refused, often in a few short paragraphs. IRCC may remove parts of it to protect sensitive information.

Read the note slowly. It usually tells you which piece of evidence the officer found missing, weak or inconsistent. That is the starting point for whatever you do next.

These are some of the grounds you are likely to see, especially on temporary resident applications.

“I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay.” This is the most common ground. The officer weighed your ties to your home country (job, family, property, studies) against your reasons to stay in Canada and was not convinced. It is often linked to one of the reasons below.

Family ties in Canada and in your country of residence. The officer thought your family connections in Canada were stronger than those at home. This is common for parents visiting children who have settled here.

Purpose of visit. The officer was not convinced the trip matched the stated purpose, or found the plan unclear.

Financial situation or assets. The officer did not see enough money for the trip, or could not tell where the money came from. A large, unexplained deposit just before applying is a common trigger.

Employment prospects or current employment. The officer was not satisfied with your job situation at home, for example because of a short work history or no letter confirming approved leave.

Travel history. Limited travel outside your home country can count against you, though it is not a bar.

Study plan (study permits). The officer did not see how the program fits your past studies or career, or why you chose it.

Genuineness of the relationship (sponsorship). The officer was not satisfied that the marriage or relationship is genuine, or found it was entered into mainly for immigration. This is the most common ground in spousal refusals.

Eligibility requirements (permanent residence). You did not meet a requirement of the program, for example work experience, language scores or proof of funds.

Misrepresentation (IRPA section 40). If the letter says you misrepresented or withheld a material fact, you are inadmissible for five years. During that time you cannot apply for permanent residence. This can apply even where the mistake was not intentional, or where someone else, such as an agent, prepared the documents. Get legal advice before you apply for anything else.

Inadmissibility (criminal, medical or other). If the letter says you are inadmissible, the problem is not your evidence but a legal bar. For criminal inadmissibility, there may be remedies such as criminal rehabilitation or a temporary resident permit. See inadmissibility.

If the letter and decision note are not enough, you can ask IRCC for a copy of your file. Requests for your own personal information are made under the Privacy Act, through IRCC’s online request portal, and there are no fees under that Act. Since 2022 people outside Canada can also make these requests. A representative can request your file with your signed consent.

The file usually includes the officer’s notes from IRCC’s Global Case Management System, known as GCMS notes. They can show exactly what the officer checked, what they found and how they weighed it.

GCMS notes are most useful when you are planning a careful new application. They are less useful when a 15-day court deadline is running and the notes will not arrive in time. In that case, the deadline comes first.

There are four main options. The right one depends on the type of application, the grounds and your timing.

For most temporary resident refusals, this is the practical route. It works when the refusal came from missing or unclear evidence. Address every ground in the letter and the decision note directly. A new application that repeats the old one usually gets the same result.

You can write to IRCC and ask the officer to reconsider. This is most useful for clear errors, such as a document that was submitted but not considered. There is no formal process and no right to it. It does not pause the deadline for judicial review.

Appeals to the IAD are available for some decisions, most often family class sponsorship refusals (spouse, partner, child, parent or grandparent applying from outside Canada). Only the sponsor can appeal. The notice of appeal must reach the IAD within 30 days of receiving the refusal and the written reasons. The IAD can hear new evidence and testimony and, in many cases, consider humanitarian and compassionate factors.

There is no IAD appeal for visitor visas, study permits, work permits, economic permanent residence programs or in-Canada spousal applications. Some family class refusals, such as those based on serious criminality, also have no appeal.

The Federal Court can review most immigration decisions to check whether they were reasonable and fair. You first ask the Court for leave (permission). The deadlines are set in section 72 of IRPA:

The time runs from the day after you are notified of the decision or otherwise become aware of it. For citizenship decisions, the deadline is 30 days (Citizenship Act section 22.1). A judge can extend time for special reasons, but you should not count on it.

If the Court finds an error, it usually sends the file back to a different officer for a new decision. It does not grant the visa or permit itself. Only you or a lawyer can represent you at the Federal Court; a consultant cannot.

If the letter says...	Usually consider
Not satisfied you will leave, funds, ties, purpose	Reapplying with stronger evidence; judicial review if the officer ignored key evidence
Relationship not genuine (family class)	IAD appeal within 30 days
Relationship not genuine (in-Canada class)	Judicial review within 15 days, or a new application
Did not meet a PR program requirement	Check for errors; judicial review or a new application
Misrepresentation	Legal advice first; judicial review may be the only way to challenge the finding
Inadmissible for criminality	Rehabilitation, a TRP or judicial review, depending on the facts

This table is a starting point, not a decision. Every refusal is different.

Manny Hundal is a Barrister & Solicitor, called to the Ontario Bar in 2013. His practice is focused on immigration law. He can read your refusal letter, decision note and file, tell you which options are open and which deadlines apply, and act on them: reapplying, appealing to the IAD or filing for judicial review at the Federal Court. Consultations are available in English, Punjabi and Hindi.

Bring the refusal letter, the decision note if you received one, and a copy of everything you submitted. And bring the date you received the letter.