Published
Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2019, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.
Updated November 12, 2026: IRCC’s visitor visa refusal guidance and the Federal Court decisions cited checked that day.
The reason: a refusal “based on your travel history”
The fix: judicial review if the officer relied on a lack of travel and ignored your ties, or a new application that shifts the weight to your ties at home.
The deadline: 60 days from notice of the refusal if you’re outside Canada, 15 days if you’re in Canada (IRPA s. 72). Reconsideration doesn’t stop the clock.
Why a lawyer: only a lawyer can take this to the Federal Court, and the officer’s notes decide whether court or a new application is right. Why a lawyer
The lawyers who review these refusals
Sundeep S. GrewalBarrister and Solicitor
Prabhpreet Kaur SanghaBarrister and Solicitor
Pardeep S. GrewalBarrister and SolicitorAbout our lawyers
Sundeep S. Grewal founded Lawgical Law Corporation and argues immigration cases at the Immigration and Refugee Board and the Federal Court of Canada.
Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha focuses on refugee claims, immigration appeals, inadmissibility, detention reviews and Federal Court cases, and has presented at Continuing Legal Education seminars and the National Immigration Conference.
Pardeep S. Grewal is an immigration and estates lawyer known for clear communication and practical strategy.
A refusal “based on your travel history” usually means you haven’t travelled much, so the officer had no record of you leaving other countries on time. Many first-time travellers are refused this way. A lack of travel is a weak factor on its own: it shows nothing either way, so the officer still has to weigh your ties, finances and purpose. Where the officer leans on travel history and ignores everything else, the refusal may be challengeable. Where the rest of the file is thin, the fix is to strengthen it, because you can’t create travel history overnight.
Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, challenges visitor visa refusals over travel history in the Federal Court; this guide is by Prabhpreet Kaur Sangha.
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What the officer is saying
There was little or no record of past trips and returns to support the finding that you’d leave. See how officers decide whether you’ll leave.
Shifting the weight
- Strong ties at home: job, family, property and obligations.
- Funds with a history.
- A short, clear, documented purpose.
- Any past trips, even regional ones, with stamps showing on-time returns.
Court or reapply?
If the notes show the officer relied mostly on a lack of travel and didn’t engage with strong ties at home, judicial review may fit. Ignoring evidence of ties and consistent returns has made refusals unreasonable (Namavari v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 1628).
Why this needs a lawyer
One lawyer, one file, every step:
- getting the officer’s decision notes and reading them against what you filed;
- deciding whether the refusal belongs in court or in a better application;
- filing judicial review in the Federal Court within the deadline;
- if reapplying is better, building the new file around the officer’s exact concern.
The choice between court and reapplying is a legal judgment about whether the officer made a reviewable error. Getting it wrong costs either the court deadline or a second refusal on file.
Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only a lawyer can take a refusal to the Federal Court. An immigration consultant cannot file or argue it there.
Mistakes I have seen
- Leaving out regional trips.
- Expecting travel history alone to be the problem when the funds or ties are also thin.
Frequently asked questions
I’ve never travelled. Can I still get a visa?
Yes. Many first-time travellers do, with strong ties and a clear purpose.
Should I travel somewhere else first?
Travel history helps over time, but a strong file can succeed without it.
What should I do right now?
Note the refusal date, request the officer’s notes, and list every past trip with proof of return.
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Sources (official)
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 179
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 72
- IRCC: officer’s decision notes
- IRCC: understanding your refusal letter
- Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65
- Namavari v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 1628
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.