Kariminezhad v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)
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The Facts
The applicant, a citizen of Iran with a PhD in applied physics, worked at Toronto's Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) as a post-doctoral research fellow from November 2022 and then as a research analyst, and applied for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class (NOC 21110) after being invited to apply on September 19, 2024. She filed a CAMH offer letter dated June 19, 2022, a second CAMH letter dated September 8, 2023 extending the position for 13 months, over a year of pay stubs showing monthly deposits of $5,000, and tax assessments. On April 14, 2025 the officer refused the application, noting that the letter of employment lacked a detailed account of duties, the offer letter did not confirm employment dates, and "no additional supporting evidence" had been provided. A request for reconsideration was refused on September 22, 2025.
What the Court Decided
Justice Azmudeh allowed the judicial review. The second letter covered the period that was critical to eligibility, and the pay stubs corroborated it, yet neither appeared in the reasons or notes, which referred only to the first letter. By saying no additional evidence had been provided, the officer ignored evidence that directly addressed their concerns, leaving a fatal gap in the chain of reasoning. The officer could have found the evidence insufficient, but had to explain why the first letter's formal deficiencies outweighed the rest of the record. The Court also refused to accept the Minister's new argument about policy compliance, since a respondent cannot fill gaps left by deficient reasons. The matter goes back to a different officer.
“the Respondent cannot step into the shoes of the decision-maker to fill gaps created by deficient reasons”— Kariminezhad v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 1207, para. 17
Does This Affect You?
- ✓Your permanent residence application was refused for lacking proof of work duties or dates even though you filed letters and pay stubs.
- ✓The refusal reasons mention only one of your supporting documents.
- ✓You are weighing judicial review of a Canadian Experience Class refusal.
Key Takeaways
- An officer need not mention every document, but cannot stay silent on evidence that directly answers the stated concern.
- Reasons that overlook a key letter and corroborating pay stubs may be set aside as unjustified.
- The government cannot defend a decision with arguments the officer never made.