Chinese graduate students sue Canada’s immigration department over study permit delays

Toronto lawyer Vakkas Bilsin says some Chinese grad students are experiencing 'unreasonable and serious' delays in their applications to study in Canada.

Frustrated with delays in processing their applications to study in Canada, Chinese graduate students are suing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Vakkas Bilsin, a Toronto-based lawyer, told CTVNews.ca that he has begun the process for proposed class actions against the federal immigration department.

Bilsin said he represents 25 Chinese citizens experiencing “unreasonable and serious” delays in their student permit applications. He said all the students have been accepted in master’s degree or PhD STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs at Canadian educational institutions.

“At the end of the day, we’re not asking for a positive decision,” Bilsin said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. “We just want them to make a decision on the study permit applications.”

The current standard processing time is five weeks for student permit applications submitted to IRCC’s Beijing office, according to the federal government’s website.

Although the students were accepted into graduate programs at Canadian universities months ago, they still haven’t received a final decision on their applications.

Bilsin said all the students are currently undergoing background or security checks, claiming one delay is taking as long as 16 months.

According to documents filed in Federal Court last month from Bilsin and his law firm, Lewis & Associates LLP, the Chinese citizens allege that their applications have been “unreasonably” delayed by IRRC’s Beijing office due to the “extensive security check” done by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

The allegations have not been proven in court. Bilsin said he is waiting for the federal Justice Department to respond on behalf of the IRCC.

IRCC addressed the students’ complaints in an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday.

Spokesperson Remi Lariviere wrote that the government “is committed to a fair and non-discriminatory application of immigration procedures.”

While he acknowledged that some students have been “experiencing increased processing times” for their study permit applications, he said all individuals seeking to come to Canada must meet admissibility and eligibility requirements, including security screenings, to ensure the safety of Canadians.

Lariviere said processing times will vary depending on the “quality and timeliness” of responses to requests for information or biometric data, the ease of verifying information, and the complexity of the file.

Luke Reimer, a spokesperson for the CBSA, told CTVNews.ca on Friday that the CBSA does not comment on cases before Federal Court. But he said in an email that the CBSA conducts “in-depth security screenings on a case-by-case basis,” meaning processing times will vary.

In an email to CTVNews.ca on Friday, CSIS spokesperson Magali Hebert said the service continues to see “high volumes of applications awaiting security screening, which CSIS is working diligently to assess.”

The students sent messages and emails to IRCC, the CBSA and CSIS requesting updates on the status of their applications, Bilsin added, saying they also made Access to Information and Privacy (ATIP) requests to get a reason for the delays. In both cases, they only got responses that were “generic” or did not provide “specific or valid reasons.”

However, Bilsin said he believes the IRCC is discriminating against the Chinese students by delaying the processing of their applications.

“If it was just a regular background check, it would have been completed in around four to five weeks,” he said.

Impact on applicants

Bilsin’s law firm described the impact of the “inaction and delay” of IRCC and its Beijing office in court documents, saying the students suffered “a great deal of hardship with disruption” of their school plans and risk losing scholarships and other funding, fellowship opportunities, employment, and the chance to defer their programs.

The applicants say they face “serious mental health conditions” because of the uncertainty and other stresses from the delays, according to the documents.

Li Zhen of Beijing, one of the students who is waiting for a decision, said he has sought psychological help due to the mental stress of the situation.

“I have trouble sleeping,” Zhen said in a video interview with CTVNews.ca on Thursday from Beijing. “I just sometimes, I have a dream, just like I have got a decision of my application ... You cannot imagine how I struggle for this.”

Zhen said he doesn’t understand why a detailed security check is stalling his student permit application.

According to the court documents, Zhen completed his biometrics and medical examination required as part of his study permit application, which he submitted in March.

The documents also say that Zhen made ATIP requests to both the CBSA and CSIS every week and sent several messages to IRCC through an online form nearly every day, but still, no final decision has been made on his student permit application.

Zhen told CTVNews.ca that he previously received a Canadian study permit that allowed him to obtain a master’s degree in computer science at Montreal’s Concordia University. Years later, he decided to pursue a PhD and was accepted into Université de Montréal’s program. Believing he would have no issues getting a student permit again, he said he left a high-paying job at an international tech company where he had passed high-level security checks.

“We (are) just simple students who just (have) a passion for Canada’s high-quality education and research,” he said, expressing disappointment in the stalled applications.

He said he deferred the university’s offer to study in Montreal a few times because of the delays but hopes he can eventually begin his studies in January 2026 or at least get a final decision on his student permit soon.