The Federal Court reviewed the
refusal of Gabriel Eidangbe and his family’s Temporary Resident Visa
applications. The family, citizens of Nigeria, wished to visit a friend in
Canada and tour Toronto and southern Ontario. After an earlier refusal had been
set aside and returned for redetermination, a different officer again refused
the applications. The Court found no procedural fairness breach in the
officer’s use of estimated travel costs, but concluded that the officer’s
assessment of the family’s income and comments about their failure to visit
relatives in the United States and Sweden were unreasonable.
Key Principle
A visa officer assessing a TRV
application may estimate the costs of a proposed trip without first giving the
applicants an opportunity to comment, because the duty of procedural fairness
in temporary resident visa matters is relatively limited. However, the
officer’s ultimate findings must still be reasonable, relevant, and
intelligible. Financial evidence must be assessed rationally, and unrelated
travel choices cannot be used negatively without a reasonable connection to the
applicant’s intention to visit Canada temporarily.
Background
Mr. Eidangbe applied for a TRV in
July 2016 for himself and his family. Their stated purpose was to visit a
friend in Canada and travel around Toronto and southern Ontario.
The first application was refused
in October 2016. Judicial review followed, and the refusal was set aside on the
Minister’s motion. The matter was then sent to a different officer for a new
decision.
On redetermination, the officer
again refused the applications in April 2017. The applicants challenged the
decision, arguing that they were not told about concerns regarding their
financial information, that the officer improperly relied on external information
to estimate travel costs, and that the earlier consent judgment created issue
estoppel. They also challenged the officer’s reliance on their failure to visit
relatives living in the United States and Sweden.
Court Findings
• No Procedural Fairness
Breach in Estimating Travel Costs
The Court agreed that the duty of
procedural fairness in TRV applications is at the low end of the spectrum. It
was not improper for the officer to independently estimate the likely costs of
the proposed Canadian trip, and the officer was not required to discuss those
calculations with the applicants before deciding the application.
• Family Income Assessment Was
Unreasonable
The Court was not satisfied that
the officer’s treatment of the evidence regarding family income met the
reasonableness standard. The decision did not demonstrate a sufficiently
justifiable, transparent, or intelligible assessment of the applicants’ financial
circumstances.
• Travel to Other Countries
Was Not a Relevant Negative Factor
The officer also relied on the
fact that the family had not travelled to visit relatives in the United States
and Sweden. The Court found those comments unreasonable and insufficiently
connected to the issue of whether the applicants intended to visit Canada
temporarily. The mere absence of visits to relatives elsewhere did not
reasonably support refusal of the Canadian TRV applications.
Outcome
The Federal Court granted
judicial review, set aside the April 27, 2017 refusal, and remitted the
applications to a different officer for redetermination. No question of general
importance was certified.
Case
Citation:
Eidangbe v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 138 (CanLII)
Prepared by:
Dr. Muhammad Abrar (Barrister and Solicitor)
Author | Writer | Mentor | Legal Researcher | Canadian Immigration Case Law and Statistics Analyst
