Docket:
IMM-9602-12
Citation: 2014 FC 52
Ottawa, Ontario, January 20, 2014
PRESENT: The
Honourable Madam Justice Simpson
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BETWEEN:
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KHUBAIB AHMAD AWAN
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Applicant
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and
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THE MINISTER OF CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION
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Respondent
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REASONS FOR ORDER AND ORDER
(Delivered orally December 19, 2013)
[1]
This application is for judicial review of a
decision of Immigration and Refugee Board (the Board) in a letter dated July
17, 2012 refusing the Applicant’s request for a permanent resident visa as a member
of the federal skilled worker class (the Refusal Letter).
[2]
The Applicant is a 51 year old man from Pakistan who applied under the occupation of “College and Other Vocational Instructors (NOC
4131).” His wife and 3 children are listed as independents and are included in
his application.
The Facts
[3]
There is no issue that the Applicant spent 10
years in high school, 2 years in phase 1 of his B.A. at the Government College and 2 years post graduate studies earning an M.A. at Sindh University, for a total of 14 years of full-time study.
[4]
Sections 78(2)(d)(ii) and 78(2)(e)(ii) of the Immigration
and Refugee Protection Regulations, C.P. 2002-997, 2002-06-11 are relevant.
Those sections deal with the awarding of points for education and they read as
follows:
(d) 20 points for
(ii)
a two-year university educational credential at the
bachelor’s level and a total of at least 14 years
of completed full-time or full-time equivalent
studies;
(e) 22 points for
(ii)
two or more university educational credentials
at the bachelor’s level and a total of
at least 15 years of completed full-time or full-time
equivalent studies;
[5]
The Applicant has been awarded 20 points for 14
years but submits that he is entitled to 22 points for 16 years of study.
The Issue
[6]
Against this background, the narrow issue is
whether it was reasonable to deny the Applicant points for the studies he allegedly
undertook in phase 2 of his Bachelor of Arts at Government College, in the period from June 1981 to April 1983. The record shows that he did not sit his
exams at the end of that period. Instead, he joined the army where he remained until
2009. However in 1991, while in military service, he passed his exams as an
external candidate and was awarded his B.A. degree by the University of Punjab.
[7]
The Officer’s CAIPS notes say in part:
According to schedule
1 he would have studied in a government college from 81 to 83 but passed his
exam in 1991. No evidence of this submitted.
Since the B.A.
degree from the University of the Punjab was in evidence and because it shows
that the Applicant passed his exams in 1991, the above note must be understood
as an expression of concern that there was no evidence that the applicant actually
studied for phase 2 of his B.A. at the Government College from 1981 to 1983.
[8]
Unfortunately, the Refusal Letter did not
mention this lack of evidence. The Refusal Letter only said the following about
education:
You were granted 20
points for education since you did not complete your B.A. from the Government C ollege. Your B.A. was obtained 8 years later as an external candidate.
This
statement appears to indicate that the points for education were limited to 20
because the Applicant did not sit his exams at the Government College and instead earned his B.A. later as an external candidate. That would not have been a
reasonable basis for denying the applicant the points he sought for education.
Conclusion
[9]
For the reasons given above I have concluded
that the Refusal Letter does not justify the decision. The Refusal Letter should
have expressed the legitimate reason for the refusal. However, when the record
is reviewed the CAIPS notes show that the decision was reasonable because it was
based on a lack of evidence dealing with studies at the Government College between the years 1981 to 1983. For these reasons the application will be dismissed.
Certification
[10]
No question was posed for certification.
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