Procedural Fairness
When you apply for spousal sponsorship, citizenship, or permanent residence in Canada, the IRCC will assess your supporting documents. If there are defects in your application (that may jeopardize your application’s success), IRCC can deem it necessary to get in touch with you. The contact aims to notify you of a specific concern that may not necessarily be within your knowledge.
Possible IRCC Concerns
IRCC can issue a procedural fairness letter under the following circumstances:
1. Express Entry
It’s when you fail to satisfy IRCC with the evidence you submitted to support work experience claims. It can also arise where you may have used an incorrect NOC (national occupational code) or didn’t mention work duties on your employment letter.
2. Genuineness of your spousal relationship
If IRCC suspects that your marriage could be a hoax, it can raise the alarm. It normally happens when IRCC has discovered inconsistencies in the submitted documents. Staying together or having children isn’t necessarily proof of marriage. The immigration officer may analyze how the relationship started and blossomed by looking at supporting documents such as:
- Shared assets
- Text messages you shared, for example, via Facebook, Whatsapp, SMS, Skype, etc.
- Emails exchanged
- Places, for example, holiday destinations you have visited together.
- Phone records
- Pictures of special events such as wedding, engagement, and birthday parties
- Birthday cards
- Purchase receipts of exchanged gifts
- Love letters
- Marriage certificate
3. Medical Inadmissibility
If your health status is likely to put unnecessary additional pressure on the Canadian social services and health care system, IRCC may deem you inadmissible on medical grounds.
4. Criminal Inadmissibility
It when evidence suggests that you have a criminal history, either outside or inside of Canada. However, you may qualify for a Temporary Resident permit and criminal rehab to overcome your criminal inadmissibility concern.
5. Misrepresentation
It’s when IRCC believes you were not truthful in your application. Sometimes an applicant does this erroneously or purposely by submitting fraudulent documents or giving false information. If confirmed, a misrepresentation can earn you a ban for five years, besides being charged for it.
If an applicant has received the procedural fairness letter that they believe could have been occasioned by an error on the part of the immigration officer, they need to work fast to clarify it. Failure to do so may have their application refused or banned from Canada.
6. Security Reasons
If you have received the procedural fairness letter on security grounds, it means the immigration officer handling your application believes you are a security threat to Canada. It often happens when you have ties to terrorist activities, past military or government jobs, or under investigation for treason.
Therefore, you might need to submit extra paperwork to confirm that you aren’t or won’t be a security risk in Canada.