There are many categories of visa applications, and the need to hire a lawyer in some types of applications may not be as obvious as in others.
For example, some spousal/common-law applications may in fact be quite straightforward from an immigration officer’s point of view. Some simpler cases in this regard may be those where the person seeking the spousal visa is from a visitor visa exempt country, and has completed post secondary education from a reputable school, and is employed. Such an applicant may be married to a Canadian and close in age. Their ethnic background may be similar. It may be their first time getting married. There may be no criminal history for either the sponsor or the applicant. In such circumstances, an officer may not have much difficulty in assessing whether or not the relationship is a genuine one. In this scenario, a lawyer would not be critical to the success of an application. Also, if the case is refused, the sponsor would enjoy a right of appeal (the appeal is usually heard about two years after the refusal). The only significant chance of refusal would be if the applicant or sponsor failed to respond to an email from a Canadian immigration officer.
On the other hand, skilled worker applications such as Express Entry and Federal Skilled Worker would greatly benefit from the hiring of a lawyer. Such cases if refused, do not have a built-in right of appeal. Rather, there is only the right to ask for a Federal Court judicial review , which contains a much less effective remedy. Officers dealing with such skill-based applications have no duty to request further information in the event your evidence is unclear. A consistent basis for refusal is the failure to have adequate evidence of work experience.
If you are seeking the renewal of a permanent resident card, and have been working abroad for a Canadian-based company, you should have a lawyer at least review your application for renewal of your PR card. Similarly, if your pattern of days in and days out of Canada is such that you are very close to the 730 day minimum, that legal assistance would be helpful for the officer’s assessment.
There are obvious cases where a lawyer is essential in Canadian immigration scenario such as an appeal, or an investigation by the Canada border services agency, or a Federal Court application. If you’re wondering whether you need a lawyer for your visa application, feel free to contact Chaudhary Law Office.
