Canada Judgment

Federal Court

Su v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration)

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Professional case brief

Research organized from the available case record

Source document

01

Holding and result

The officer materially erred in describing the temporal relation between the police certificate and the spouse's last residence in China; because the certificate was in fact issued after departure it met the regulatory requirement and the officer's mistaken statement undermined the legality of the decision, requiring the application be granted and the file remitted to IRCC for a new determination by a different officer.

Court disposition

Application for judicial review granted; matter remitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a new determination by a different officer; no question of general importance certified.

Orders

  • Application for judicial review is granted.
  • The file is sent back to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a new determination by a different officer.
  • No question of general importance is certified.

02

Material facts

Parties

BIN SU

Applicant Counsel: Joshua Slayen

THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION

Respondent Counsel: Jocelyne Mui

Amounts and remedies

  • Decision Year: 2,025

03

Procedural history

  1. Posture

    Judicial Review — Immigration (express Entry Permanent Residence) / Federal Court Judgment (final)

04

Questions and positions

Legal issues

Party arguments

Applicant
The officer's rejection was based on credibility concerns and an error about the police certificate date; that error required issuance of a Procedural Fairness Letter and renders the decision unreasonable.
Respondent
The respondent conceded the officer misstated the certificate date but argued the error was immaterial because the GCMS rationale clearly showed the certificate did not cover the full period of residence, so the outcome would be the same.

05

Court’s reasoning

  1. 01

    Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada policy / Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

    Police certificate must be issued after the applicant's last period of residence of six months or more to be acceptable

  2. 02

    Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 SCR 817

    Duty of procedural fairness applies where credibility or adverse findings may arise and may require a Procedural Fairness Letter

  3. 03

    Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65

    On judicial review the court reviews reasonableness of the decision and does not substitute its own assessment of the facts; material legal error or factual error that affects outcome warrants remittal

06

Ratio, limits and disposition

Ratio decidendi

The officer materially erred in describing the temporal relation between the police certificate and the spouse's last residence in China; because the certificate was in fact issued after departure it met the regulatory requirement and the officer's mistaken statement undermined the legality of the decision, requiring the application be granted and the file remitted to IRCC for a new determination by a different officer.

Obiter and limits

  • GCMS notes alone were insufficient to cure the officer's clear error in the decision letter
  • No question of general importance arose and none is certified

Court disposition

Application for judicial review granted; matter remitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a new determination by a different officer; no question of general importance certified.

  • Application for judicial review is granted.
  • The file is sent back to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada for a new determination by a different officer.
  • No question of general importance is certified.

Source and reliance status

Federal Court · 18 December 2025

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Judgment reading view

Judgment text

The complete available source text.

Source document

Federal Court

Judgment· 18 December 2025

2025 FC 2001

Su v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration) Court (s) Database Federal Court Decisions Date 2025-12-18 Neutral citation 2025 FC 2001 File numbers IMM-15064-24 Decision Content Date: 20251218 Docket : IMM-15064-24 Citation: 2025 FC 2001 Ottawa, Ontario , December 18, 2025 PRESENT: Madam Justice Gagné BETWEEN:

BIN SU Applicant and

THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION Respondent

JUDGMENT AND REASONS [1] Mr. Bin Su’s application for permanent residence under the Canadian Express Class using Express Entry was rejected as incomplete, because his wife’s police certificate was issued prior to her departure from China. [2] The Applicant submits that this amounts to a credibility issue that necessarily required the issuance of a Procedural Fairness Letter, and that the decision is overall unreasonable. [3] The Chinese police certificate confirms there were no criminal offences during the spouses’ residence in China from April 2, 2019, to April 2, 2024, whereas the evidence shows she resided in China from February 5, 2018, to August 22, 2022. In that scenario, the period not covered is prior to the issuance of the police certificate. [4] Yet the officer’s decision states the following: The Police certificate from China was issued prior to your last residence in that country. The Police certificate was issued on April 2nd 2022. Your last residence in this country was August 22nd 2022. [5] In that scenario, the period not covered is posterior to the police certificate. [6] The Global Case Management System [GCMS] notes do not provide further clarification as they simply state: Police certificate from China provided with the application is not acceptable as it does not cover the full period of time spent in China. [7] The Respondent concedes that the officer

erred in noting the date of the police certificate but states this error has no impact on the decision as the GCMS clearly provides the reason for the rejection: the certificate does not cover the full period of time spent in China. [8] I disagree with the Respondent. [9] If the rejection letter and the GCMS are read together, it is clear that for the officer, the period of time of residence not covered by the Police certificate is posterior to its issuance. This clearly does not meet the requirement that the Police certificate be issued after the last time an applicant has stayed in a country for six months or more in a row. [10] Since the Police certificate was issued after the Applicant’s wife left China, the latter requirement was clearly met. [11] The officer’s error has an impact on the decision as time does not go backward and criminal records do not tend to erase themselves. The Court cannot substitute itself to the officer, reassess the evidence, and issue the decision that should have been issued without this significant error. [12] This, in and of itself, justifies granting this application and sending the file back to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada for a new determination. [13] The parties have not proposed any question of general importance for certification and no such question arises from the facts of this case. JUDGMENT IN IMM-15064-24 THIS COURT’S JUDGMENT is that : This application for judicial review is granted and the file is sent back to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada for a new determination by a different officer. No question of general importance is certified. blank "Jocelyne Gagné" blank Judge

FEDERAL COURT

SOLICITORS OF RECORD Docket : IMM-15064-24 STYLE OF CAUSE: BIN SU v THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION PLACE OF HEARING : Vancouver, British Columbia DATE OF HEARING: OCTOBER 23, 2025 JUDGMENT AND REASONS: GAGNÉ J. DATED: December 18, 2025 APPEARANCES : Joshua Slayen

FOR THE APPLICANT Jocelyne Mui

FOR THE RESPONDENT SOLICITORS OF RECORD: Slayen Immigration Law Vancouver, British Columbia

FOR THE APPLICANT Attorney General of Canada Vancouver, British Columbia

FOR THE RESPONDENT

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Authorities

Authorities used by the court

Cases, legislation, regulations, and constitutional provisions identified in the available record.

Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 SCR 817

Case cited

Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65

Case cited

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Legislation

Legislation referenced in the available case record.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Legislation

Legislation referenced in the available case record.

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