International students who have been denied study permits in Canada can look forward to some respite. The Federal Court of Canada has launched a pilot project to streamline the process of requesting judicial review of rejected study permit applications. The Study Permit Pilot Project began on October 1, 2024.
If you were denied a study permit by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), you may be eligible to participate in the Federal Court’s Study Permit Pilot Project. This initiative is in partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and members of the Federal Court Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Law Bar Liaison Committee (which includes representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the private bar).
By opting for Study Permit Pilot Project, students can save a lot of time. By choosing to take part in the Study Permit Pilot Project, students can skip some of the standard steps in asking a judge to review the refusal of their study permit. Under the Study Permit Pilot Project, people who apply for leave and judicial review of their study permit refusals will complete the entire procedure in 5 months, rather than the current 14-18 months.
To take part in the pilot project, the study permit application should have been rejected and both parties – IRCC and student – need to agree to opt in to the pilot project.
Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton stated that the pilot project will not require a hearing, and will allow judges to rule on leave and judicial review, simultaneously.
The Federal Court is set to receive 24,000 immigration filings by December, a four-times increase from the previous five years, marking 2024 as a record-breaking year, with rejected requests contributing to this surge.