The applicant sought judicial review of an immigration officer's decision refusing her request for an exemption from the requirement to apply for permanent residence from abroad on humanitarian and compassionate grounds under s. 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
The applicant, a 64-year-old citizen of Kuwait with adult Canadian children, had a history of moving between Canada and Kuwait, experiencing domestic abuse, and losing her permanent resident status.
The Federal Court found the officer's decision unreasonable.
The officer applied the wrong legal test (adopting the minority dissent from Kanthasamy without justification), overlooked key evidence regarding the applicant's reasons for losing her permanent residency and her establishment in Canada as a single parent, and improperly used her resilience as a factor against her.
The application for judicial review was granted and the matter remitted for redetermination.
