Response to Procedural Fairness Letter

Let’s be honest, for a number of applicants, Canada is not the only country that they have applied to for a study permit or for a visitor visa. Before they applied to Canada, some applicants already applied to travel to the USA or Australia and their applications were refused. If you are in such a situation, it is important that when you submit a Canadian visa application, you state truthfully your previous visa refusals by any country. 

Every time you submit a Canadian visa application, your application is usually checked against the data bases of Canada’s closest allies, including the USA and Australia. Therefore, if you omitted to state your previous refusals by these countries, it is almost a guarantee that Canada will refuse your application. In many cases, before Canada refuses your application in such a situation, visa or immigration officers will send you a letter asking you to explain why you omitted a previous USA or Australian refusal. This letter is referred to as the procedural fairness letter. Should you be unable to satisfactorily explain the omission, it is very likely that you will receive a 5-year ban for misrepresentation. This means that you will be unable to apply to come to Canada for a period of 5 years.

Therefore, the consequence of not properly responding to a procedural fairness letter can be quite significant. If you have received a procedural fairness letter from a visa or immigration officer, contact us today for an expert advice on how to respond.