08/02/2026
Major development in Canadian immigration!
The Federal Court has opened the door for immigration applicants to challenge unreasonable processing delays linked to changing government policies and ministerial instructions.
The case involved Yu Dai, who applied for permanent residence through the Home Child-Care Provider Program. After waiting more than 42 months, her estimated remaining processing time reportedly increased to another 39 months potentially bringing the total wait to 79 months, or more than 6 years.
Justice Michael Battista ruled that simply relying on ministerial instructions is not enough to justify an open-ended delay. The government still needs to provide a transparent and intelligible explanation for why applications are being delayed.
⚖️ The court has now given the Immigration Department 60 days to make a decision on Dai’s PR application.
This decision could be important for other immigration applicants facing lengthy delays, particularly where processing timelines have changed because of new ministerial directions.
It may also encourage applicants and immigration lawyers to take a closer look at whether certain delays are legally reasonable.
🇨🇦 For people waiting on their Canadian immigration applications, this could be a significant development to watch.
