Doron v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2016 FC 429 : PR Application Refusal Overturned Because Applicant Was Not Properly Informed of the Required Police Certificate

The Federal Court reviewed the refusal of a permanent residence application under Express Entry because the applicant had submitted a police certificate from the Philippines issued by the National Police Commission (NPC), rather than the required certificate from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

The Court overturned the refusal because the applicant had not been properly advised that an NBI certificate was specifically required.

Key Principle

Although applicants generally bear the responsibility of submitting a complete application with the required supporting documents, procedural fairness may require initial notice of a specific document requirement where the applicant was not actually informed of that requirement.

An officer is generally not required to give applicants repeated opportunities to correct an incomplete application. However, where the applicant was never properly advised of the particular requirement that led to the refusal, the application may be unfairly refused.

Background

The applicant was a Philippine citizen who applied for permanent residence through Express Entry after receiving an Invitation to Apply.

He submitted a police certificate issued by the Philippine National Police Commission. However, CIC required a police certificate issued by the National Bureau of Investigation.

The applicant had difficulty uploading documents and had previously informed CIC about difficulties obtaining police certificates from several countries. His application was ultimately rejected as incomplete because the required NBI certificate had not been submitted.

The applicant argued that he had not been provided with the checklist that CIC’s correspondence said would identify the required documents and that he was unaware that the Philippine certificate had to be issued by the NBI.

Court Findings

The Federal Court found that the applicant had been denied procedural fairness.

The Court accepted that there is generally no obligation on an immigration officer to repeatedly alert an applicant about missing documents or provide multiple opportunities to complete an application.

However, in this case, the Court found that the applicant had never been properly advised that the police certificate had to be specifically issued by the NBI.

CIC had referred the applicant to a document checklist, but the checklist was never provided to him. The Respondent instead relied on website screenshots to establish that the applicant had been informed of the NBI requirement. The Court declined to rely on those screenshots because they had not been properly introduced into evidence and did not establish that the applicant had been informed of the requirement at the relevant time.

The Court therefore concluded that CIC had failed to provide the initial notice of the requirement necessary to satisfy procedural fairness.

Outcome

The Federal Court allowed the application for judicial review and returned the matter to another immigration officer for redetermination, with an opportunity for the applicant to submit the required police certificate.

Case Citation:

Doron v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2016 FC 429 CanLII