Refusals for work visas are a common practice for applicants who apply while on another work visa outside their home country. Few people know that it’s possible—and necessary—to challenge such refusals if everything is presented and argued correctly.
For instance, a young man applies for a Canadian work visa while working in Kuwait and gets refused. The officer justifies the refusal by stating that the applicant has no ties to his home country, as he hasn’t lived there for a long time (he’s working abroad). At the same time, the officer argues that the applicant also has no ties to Kuwait, as he is only there temporarily for work. Essentially, it’s a vicious circle.
When analyzing a temporary visa application, an officer is required to justify their refusal by analyzing both sides—highlighting the factors that weaken the application but also acknowledging the positive factors, even if they are weak or less relevant.
If an officer focuses only on the negative factors and ignores others, the decision is deemed incorrect, can be overturned by the court, and sent back for reconsideration.
Now, back to our example. In this case, the officer focused solely on the lack of ties to the country of residence and citizenship as grounds for refusal. However, the applicant had a family in his home country and a strong travel history. These factors were completely ignored by the officer.
The court annulled the decision because the officer failed to consider other factors and did not mention them in the refusal reasons.
The moral of the story: Always include so-called pull-back factors (elements that tie you to your home country). If the officer fails to consider them, you can win on appeal. However, if you don’t include these factors, winning the case becomes impossible.
