Judicial review granted and costs awarded where officer failed to weigh evidence on third visa refusal.
The applicants, citizens of India, sought judicial review of a third refusal of their application for a temporary resident visa to visit their children in Canada.
The previous two refusals were reconsidered after the Minister consented to settlement on judicial review.
The Federal Court granted the application, finding the visa officer's decision unreasonable for failing to weigh the considerable evidence of the applicants' ties to India against their family ties in Canada.
The Court found insufficient evidence to establish a reasonable apprehension of bias but awarded $1,000 in costs to the applicants due to special reasons arising from the clearly unreasonable nature of the third refusal.
The Court declined to issue a directed verdict but ordered expedited reconsideration.
