How long do I have to challenge an immigration refusal in Federal Court?
Short answer
In Canada, an application for leave and for judicial review must be served on the other party and then filed in the Registry of the Federal Court within 15 days where the decision being challenged was made in Canada, and within 60 days where it was made outside Canada (s. 72(2)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act).
In detail
Section 72 of the Act provides that judicial review by the Federal Court of a matter arising under the Act is subject to an application for leave being filed. Subsection 72(2) sets out how that is done, including the time limit.
The clock runs “after the day on which the applicant is notified of or otherwise becomes aware of the matter”. It is therefore not necessarily the date printed on the refusal letter, but the moment the person is informed of it — which is why knowing when the decision was received matters.
The 15-day / 60-day distinction does not depend on where the person is located, but on where the matter arose: in Canada or outside Canada.
What to document
The exact date you received the decision: the envelope, the email time stamp, the delivery notice, or a screenshot of the portal. That is the document that fixes the start of the time limit, and it is easy to lose if it is not kept right away.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
Related questions
- I was refused by an embassy abroad what is my deadline to challenge it?
- I missed the deadline to challenge a decision can I still do something?
- My refugee claim was refused how long do I have to appeal?
- What is the difference between the notice of appeal and the appellant's record at the RAD?
- Can the Refugee Appeal Division give me more time?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.