The applicants, a mother and son from China, sought judicial review of a decision refusing their application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds.
The Federal Court allowed the application, finding that the immigration officer's assessment of the best interests of the child (BIOC) was unreasonable.
The officer made findings not supported by the evidence and based on speculation regarding the son's ability to reintegrate into the Chinese education system and the benefits of family reunification with his estranged father.
Although a BIOC assessment is not necessarily determinative of an H&C application, the flawed analysis in this case undermined the reasonableness of the overall decision.
