Immigration rules so unclear applicant can be given high-pass or a fail on same paperwork, court says

Interesting. While the Court upheld the particular decision, does look like more clarity needed:

A financial analyst from Pakistan applying last year for permanent residence status in Canada as a federal skilled worker was given a score of five points, out of a potential 25, in the education category of her assessment.

It was argued in court that different assessments of the same credentials could have scored her 19 or even 23 points.

Federal Court Justice Cecily Strickland found all three scores could have been seen as correct or “reasonable.”

“Having reached the conclusion that the [visa] officer’s decision was reasonable, I would also note that the alternate interpretation suggested by the applicant was also a possible outcome,” Judge Strickland wrote in a recent decision released this week.

The process is “less than a model of clarity,” she wrote.

“It’s a little bit absurd,” said Matthew Jeffery, a Toronto lawyer acting for the applicant, Minaa Ijaz, in an interview.

“All of these rules are quite new and the regulations for assessing how many points are awarded for qualification have been rewritten recently by the Conservatives.

“This case was the first to challenge them and it will take some back-and-forth in the courts to assess how the rules are written and interpreted.”

Immigration rules so unclear applicant can be given high-pass or a fail on same paperwork, court says