At Globexa Immigration, we are discussing whether you can apply for judicial review for an application in which you got a ban in 2024.
In this case, the applicant got a ban on one of the applications in 2024. After getting that ban, the applicant recently applied for another study visa. In this particular application, the applicant got a refusal stating that they were not eligible to apply for any kind of visa in Canada because they had received a ban earlier.
The applicant also applied for the CAIPS notes. In the CAIPS notes, it was clearly mentioned that the applicant had received a ban earlier and that the ban was still applicable. Due to that ban, the applicant was not eligible to apply for any visa application.
The applicant then went for judicial review and had already applied for judicial review. After receiving all the details and checking all the details, the question was: if the applicant was going to challenge the ban in the previous application, how could that ban be challenged right now?
1. Judicial Review for the Current Application
For the current application submitted in 2026, judicial review can be submitted because the applicant received a refusal. There are 15 days of time to submit judicial review if the application was submitted inside Canada.
If the application was submitted outside Canada, there are 60 days of time.
So, inside Canada, there are 15 days of time, and outside Canada, there are 60 days of time, depending upon the location and depending upon from where the application was submitted.
But the previous application in which the applicant got the ban was submitted in 2024 or maybe earlier than that, and there was no clear mention of that application in the CAIPS notes.
It was not mentioned in which application the applicant got the ban. It was mentioned that the applicant got a ban in one of the applications submitted earlier and that the ban was still applicable.
Because of that, on technical grounds, the applicant could not submit any application, and that is why the refusal was received.
1. Judicial Review for the Current Application
For the current application submitted in 2026, judicial review can be submitted because the applicant received a refusal. There are 15 days of time to submit judicial review if the application was submitted inside Canada.
If the application was submitted outside Canada, there are 60 days of time.
So, inside Canada, there are 15 days of time, and outside Canada, there are 60 days of time, depending upon the location and depending upon from where the application was submitted.
But the previous application in which the applicant got the ban was submitted in 2024 or maybe earlier than that, and there was no clear mention of that application in the CAIPS notes.
It was not mentioned in which application the applicant got the ban. It was mentioned that the applicant got a ban in one of the applications submitted earlier and that the ban was still applicable.
Because of that, on technical grounds, the applicant could not submit any application, and that is why the refusal was received.
2. The Refusal Was Based on Technical Grounds
This was a refusal based on technical grounds, and it happened due to the ineligibility to submit any kind of application.
It was not due to any kind of issue in this particular application. In fact, the visa officer did not even check the application.
What was the applicant’s education? What was the applicant’s experience? Which program did the applicant take? What was the score? Whatever was in the application, the visa officer did not take the decision based on the merit of this application.
So, when judicial review is being submitted in this application because the applicant got the refusal and is challenging that this refusal is not right, in that case, actually the applicant is challenging the ban which happened earlier.
That ban could have happened in 2023, maybe 2024, maybe 2025, earlier than this application.
The details of those were not shared by the client. Those details were not mentioned in the CAIPS notes as well. So, it is not known when that ban happened.
The ban happened earlier, and because there is no clear information, it is not known when it happened. But very clearly, that 60-day window or 15-day window is already over.
Now, to challenge that ban, judicial review cannot be submitted because that timeline is over.
3. The Previous Ban Cannot Be Challenged Through the Current Refusal
If judicial review is submitted in this current application where the refusal was received, it is not going to work out.
Whenever you get a refusal or a ban, you can always challenge it. If you are inside Canada, you have 15 days of time. If you are outside Canada, you have 60 days of time.
If it is a refusal, you can always reapply.
But if it is a ban already implemented, you should challenge it as soon as possible through judicial review.
It can be done, but it needs to be done at the right time.
If you got a ban in 2025, 2024 or 2023 and you want to challenge it right now because you got a refusal now, it is not going to work out.
4. The Judicial Review Needs to Be Done at the Right Time
In this particular case as well, because the judicial review was submitted recently on technical grounds, ultimately the judge is going to refuse this particular judicial review because the challenge does not work this way.
The challenge needs to happen at the right time, and it did not happen at the right time.
Whenever you want to challenge any refusal or a ban, in the case of refusal, always go for reapplication.
You do not require to challenge the refusals in judicial review in the courts. It is not required. It is an expensive and long process.
It usually takes six months to one year of time. It is a long waiting time and it is a costly process as well.
5. Reapplication After a Refusal
Reapplication is a better application and a better system or process.
If you get a refusal, go for reapplication rather than going for judicial review.
Do not directly challenge your refusal in the court. It is not an ego thing.
Many ICCRC consultants say that you should go for judicial review directly because you got a refusal.
We get refusal every now and then and we reapply and we get visa.
That is a faster process. In a reapplication, you can get the result maybe in one month, two months or three months. That is it.
And even if you get refusal again, reapply.
Why are you making it into an ego issue?
If you get a refusal, reapply. That’s it. That’s Canada. That’s it.
6. Reconsideration and Reapplication
In case of refusal, never go for judicial review. It is not required.
If there is merit in the application, you will get your result, positive result, anytime soon.
If you are eligible to apply, always go for it.
Submit reconsideration. Submit reapplication. Those are the things to do.
You should go for reapplication and reconsideration rather than directly going for judicial review.
7. When Judicial Review Can Be Required
If you are not eligible to apply for the application again, there can be a different situation.
For example, you submitted your spouse open work permit application when there were 17 months of PG work permit left.
When you got the result, at that time the PG work permit left was just 15 months.
Now you cannot submit the spouse open work permit application again in this case. It is a dead end.
You cannot submit the spouse open work permit application on technical grounds because 16 months of PG work permit or work permit is not pending.
In this case, you will be required to go for judicial review.
You can submit a reconsideration. If you do not get a positive result in reconsideration in five to seven days, after that you need to go for judicial review.
8. Judicial Review When You Cannot Reapply
If you submitted the application from outside Canada, which happens in most of the cases, then you have 60 days of time.
You can wait for 40 to 45 days, and after that you can proceed for judicial review. It is fine.
In that case, it is fine to go for judicial review because it is a dead end.
You cannot reapply for spouse visa on technical grounds there. It is fine to go for it because you do not have any other option.
But in the case of a normal study visa application, spouse visa application where you have eligibility, or visitor visa application where you got refusal, do not directly challenge that application for judicial review.
Do not go for it.
9. Reapply Instead of Directly Going for Judicial Review
Always try to reapply.
Reapply for multiple times as well, and ultimately you are going to get visa.
It is a far better thing to do compared to judicial review.
But in the case of a PR application, when you get a ban and you feel that the ban is not justified, in that case you can go for judicial review.
You should always go for it.
But remember the timeline.
It cannot be that you are challenging a refusal or a ban which happened in 2024 or 2025 now. It is not going to work out.
10. A Ban and the Five-Year Period
For the current application submitted in 2026, judicial review can be submitted because the applicant received a refusal. There are 15 days of time to submit judicial review if the application was submitted inside Canada.
If the application was submitted outside Canada, there are 60 days of time.
So, inside Canada, there are 15 days of time, and outside Canada, there are 60 days of time, depending upon the location and depending upon from where the application was submitted.
But the previous application in which the applicant got the ban was submitted in 2024 or maybe earlier than that, and there was no clear mention of that application in the CAIPS notes.
It was not mentioned in which application the applicant got the ban. It was mentioned that the applicant got a ban in one of the applications submitted earlier and that the ban was still applicable.
Because of that, on technical grounds, the applicant could not submit any application, and that is why the refusal was received.
11. Do It at the Right Time
Do it at the right time or just leave it.
It is not going to work out.
If you need help in judicial review or reconsideration after refusal, or handling your reapplication after getting refusal, Globexa Immigration can handle it.
If you are in any of these kinds of situations and are unable to decide what to do in any kind of scenario, in case of a ban, when you get a PFL, when you get ADR, or if you are stuck in any kind of situation, the process can be handled.
