Success Story: Overcoming a Procedural Fairness Letter Related to Misrepresentation Allegations

Our office recently assisted an international student who had received a Procedural Fairness Letter from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). This letter raised a serious concern: an allegation of misrepresentation under section 40(1)(a) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Under this section, a foreign national or permanent resident may be found inadmissible if they, directly or indirectly, provide false information or withhold a material fact that leads, or could lead, to an error in the application of the Act. The consequences are severe: refusal of the application and a five-year ban from entering Canada.

In practice, an applicant can be found guilty of misrepresentation even in the case of an “innocent mistake” on an immigration application. This situation often occurs when applicants make simple errors on forms or inadvertently fail to declare certain information, which can nonetheless have serious consequences.

In this case, during the final stages of processing the study permit application, the officer believed that our client had failed to declare a previous visa refusal on the application form. After consulting Mpoto Consulting, we developed a clear and targeted strategy to address the officer’s concerns through a precise and well-documented written response.

Given the urgency, we immediately:

- Conducted an in-depth analysis of the letter received and the client’s application history.

- Prepared a clear, factual, and well-supported response demonstrating that the omission was unintentional.

- Highlighted our client’s good faith and consistent compliance with legal requirements.

The result: The response was submitted the same day, and by the next business day, the officer confirmed the approval of the application and invited our client to submit their passport for visa issuance.

This case highlights two important lessons:

1. Even an unintentional error can lead to a misrepresentation finding.

2. A quick, precise, and well-argued response can change the course of a decision and save a study, work, or immigration project.

If you receive a Procedural Fairness Letter, every hour counts. A professional response can make the difference between a refusal with a ban and an approved application. Mpoto Consulting can help you prepare a clear reply to correct any mistakes or omissions and avoid the serious consequences of a misrepresentation finding.