Inadmissible for lack of veracity: Damangir v. Citizenship and Immigration

Being inadmissible in Canada is one of the worst decisions that can be made in immigration, not only because the applicant will not be able to enter the country, but also because this refusal will leave an unfavorable precedent, thus tarnishing his or her record as a foreigner. This is what happened with the Damangir case, a situation in which the lack of truthfulness cost a group of five foreigners who applied for permanent residency under the Emerging Business Class program a visa denial.

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Immiland Canada presents this informative article on what not to do when applying for a Canadian visa; and we remind you that ignorance of the law does not exempt you from its application. It is preferable to take some time to learn how to do an immigration procedure correctly or to let your case be handled by an expert regulated by the Canadian Bar Association. Let's take a look at what happened to the five rejected applicants.

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What is Damangir v. Canada?

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Damangir v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) is the lawsuit brought by Houman Damangir, Shahram Laleh, Reza Damangir, Shahram Mahmoudzadeh Hashtroudi and Hadi Dadpoor seeking judicial review of a visa officer's decisions to reject each of their applications for permanent residence as members of the Emerging Business Class. 

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Why did an official refuse the permanent visas of the five foreigners?

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The officer found that one of the applicants, Mr. Hashtroudi, did not disclose a previous temporary resident visa (TRV) refusal on his application. As a result, his application was denied, as were the applications of the other four foreigners, according to regulations which stipulate that if one applicant is denied, the applications of the entire group must be denied.

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Mr. Hashtroudi's untruthfulness affected the entire group.

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The officer reviewing Mr. Hashtroudi's application found that Mr. Hashtroudi engaged in the following actions:

1. He did not declare any of his denials to Canada on his Schedule A form.
2. It did not provide a business plan that sufficiently explained the essential operations to be carried out in Canada. 
3. He did not provide any intention to actively and continuously manage the business in Canada, nor any intention to incorporate in this country after attaining permanent resident status.

In conclusion, the officer argued, verbatim:

"You may not qualify for the emerging company category because I am concerned that your primary purpose for entering into an engagement with the designated entity is to acquire a status or privilege under the Act. You have a valid work permit that you have not actively used to commence business operations in Canada, although you are considered an essential member of the business."

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The ruling was inadmissible

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The Federal Court upheld the officer's decision, emphasizing the duty to provide truthful and complete information during the application process, thus dismissing the applicants' arguments regarding procedural fairness, stating that the procedural fairness letter adequately informed Mr. Hashtroudi of the concerns and provided him with an opportunity to respond. However, it was his failure to disclose the TRV's rejection that led to the rejection of his application. Read the Federal Court's decision against Damangir, here.

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What is a procedural fairness letter?

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This letter is a document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) as part of the immigration application review process and is sent to applicants when IRCC identifies concerns or questions about their application. In this blog post, you can learn more about the procedural letter.

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Immiland Canada's recommendations to avoid inadmissibility 

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It is unfortunate to know that this happens in the Canadian immigration dynamics, but at the same time it is encouraging to know that the vast majority of applicants and Canadian regulated consultants are committed to a clean and honest process, so we are confident that the informative work we do from our blog reaches in a timely manner to users and clients of Immiland to avoid making mistakes in their application or lying about any information, because, as small as it may seem it is not. Take into account the following from now on and share it with your family and friends who are planning to travel to Canada:

• Truthfulness in your application implies 100% honesty and transparency. When applying for your visa, provide all relevant information, including previous rejections or denials, to avoid complications in the process!
• Visa applicants have a responsibility to ensure that their application is complete and should never provide false information that could have serious consequences, including rejection of the application and possible prohibitions on reapplication.
• Be serious about receiving a procedural fairness letter, if this occurs, IRCC is likely considering denying your immigration application. If this is the case, you should contact a CICC-regulated consultant to assist you in filing a reconsideration. Our team at Immiland can guide you in this regard. Click here.
• From the Damangir case, it is clear that wheremultiple applicants are involved, rejection of one member's application can affect the entire group. Be sincere and honest at all times. All applicants must meet the requirements individually to avoid collective rejection.

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If your visa has been denied or you suspect you have been denied because you made a mistake when applying, do not worry, there is a possibility of a reconsideration, contact us and a CICC consultant from Immiland will be able to help you. Make an appointment here or write an email to info@immilandcanada.com. 

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With love,

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Immiland