Resident who waited more than 20 years for citizenship sued immigration minister

An unprecedented case was heard in a Canadian court.

Mahmoud Sharafaldin is a citizen of Iran. In 1995, the Refugee Determination Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada accepted his application for refugee protection. He became a permanent resident of Canada in 1996.

At the end of 1999, he applied for citizenship status — and that application is still pending.

Reportedly, all the requirements for citizenship were met. There were some problems with security checks, but by 2004 they had been investigated and corrected.

After that, while awaiting a decision, Sharafaldin visited Iran three times between 2007 and 2009, for a total of 18 months. His trips, combined with a host of new immigration laws, became a stumbling block to the Iranian's path to Canadian citizenship.

Thus, on August 1, 2014, section 13.1 of the Citizenship Act came into force, and pursuant to it, Sharafaldin's application for citizenship was suspended on October 24, 2014, on the grounds that he was henceforth the subject of an investigation by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

A particular concern on the part of the CBSA was that by returning to and remaining in Iran, Sharafaldin had again availed himself of the protection of that country. Confirmation of this fact would have meant revoking his refugee status in Canada.

On December 15, 2012, amendments to the Immigration Law came into force: the cancellation of refugee status would automatically deprive Sharafaldin of residency and the ability to stay in the country.

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Back on February 1, 2009, upon his return to Canada from his home country, he immediately surrendered his Iranian passport, laptop, cell phone, boarding pass and other documents for investigation purposes. CBSA was not charged at the time. However, more than six years later, in 2015, the Minister of Public Safety filed an application with the Refugee Protection Division seeking to revoke Sharafaldin's refugee status in Canada. Sharafaldin himself did not receive a copy of the application until three years later.

On January 9, 2019, an Iranian man filed a lawsuit. He asked for a final decision on his citizenship, which he had been waiting for 18 years. Moreover, he demanded that the application for citizenship be considered immediately in the case where all the requirements for status had been met, but had expired due to delays in adjudication.

The plaintiff was in for an unpleasant surprise: when he sued in 2019, he did not know that the case regarding his citizenship status was on pause: no one informed him about it. This only came to light when an affidavit was received from the minister in response to the appeal. Sharafaldin stayed in the dark for five whole years.

It was then decided to amend the original application: the claims included an article on damages and a request to impose significant restrictions on the minister's review of the application.

Speaking in court, the plaintiff's lawyer repeatedly stressed that his client had undergone all the necessary checks and the delay in consideration of the application since 2004 is completely unfounded.

Ultimately, on May 27, 2022, the court ruled as follows:

• the Minister is obliged to complete Mahmoud Sharafaldin's application for Canadian citizenship without delay;

• security checks, criminal and immigration checks must be completed within 60 days of the court's decision;

• 30 days to make a decision on the application after the completion of inspections.

The issue of financial compensation was considered separately and was discussed by the parties. As a result, on June 30, 2022, the court agreed to a payment of $65,000 CAD to plaintiff.

Thus, the man who moved to Canada back in 1995 was finally able to get justice. The year 2022 will be remembered for Mahmoud Sharafaldin's final struggle and obtaining a Canadian passport, which he had been waiting for more than 20 years.