Rezvani v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 951 : Federal Skilled Worker Refusal Upheld Where Job Duties Did Not Clearly Match the Claimed NOC

The Federal Court reviewed the refusal of a Federal Skilled Worker application where the applicant claimed work experience as a Financial Manager and Accountant.

The visa officer was not satisfied that the employment evidence showed that the applicant had actually performed the duties required by the claimed NOC occupations.

The Court upheld the refusal.

Key Principle

A skilled worker applicant must provide clear, convincing, and sufficiently detailed evidence showing that their actual work duties match the claimed NOC.

Simply copying duties from the NOC into an application does not establish qualifying work experience.

Where the concern is the sufficiency of the evidence, rather than whether a document is fraudulent or not credible, the officer is generally not required to provide another opportunity to respond.

Background

The applicant was an Iranian citizen who applied for permanent residence based on experience as a Financial Manager and Accountant.

He submitted employment letters and descriptions of his duties.

The officer found that the employment documents contained vague descriptions and company-specific jargon, while portions of the applicant’s own description appeared to be copied directly from the NOC.

The officer concluded that the applicant’s experience appeared closer to that of a bookkeeper than a Financial Manager or Accountant.

Court Findings

The Federal Court found no breach of procedural fairness.

Although the officer used the word “credibility,” the Court concluded that the real concern was the insufficiency of the evidence, not the authenticity or truthfulness of the employment documents.

Because applicants bear the burden of submitting a complete and persuasive application, the officer was not required to conduct an interview or provide an additional opportunity to improve deficient evidence.

The Court also found that the officer had considered the employment letters and reasonably concluded that the duties described did not sufficiently match the claimed occupations.

Outcome

The Federal Court dismissed the application for judicial review.

The case shows that employment letters should clearly describe the applicant’s actual day-to-day duties in specific language rather than repeating the wording of the NOC.

Case Citation:

Rezvani v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 951 CanLII