Decisions made at the Immigration Appeal Division, the Refugee Protection Division or the Immigration Division can be challenged by Judicial Review in the Federal Court of Canada. An applicant will have 15 days to apply for leave for Judicial Review if the matter was decided in Canada. If the matter was decided outside of Canada, then the applicant will have 60 days to apply for leave for Judicial Review.
At a Judicial Review, the role of the court is to simply ensure that the original decision was made in accordance with procedural fairness, that the decision does not contain any errors of law or unreasonable findings of fact and that the decision itself was reasonable.
The first stage of a Judicial Review is the leave application. All documentation is submitted to the presiding judge in written format. After the judge reviews the material, if satisfied, the judge will grant leave for Judicial Review. If the judge is not satisfied, leave will be denied and the applicant will have no further recourse in the Federal Court.