Federal government charged more than it spent to process applications

THE Federal Court has certified a class proceeding lawsuit in the case of Nguyen v. Her Majesty the Queen, Court File No. T-1778-15, that alleges that the Government of Canada collected more money through charging service fees for multiple-entry temporary resident visa applications [“MTRV applications”] than the Government of Canada spent to process and make decisions on those applications between October 21, 2009, and March 31, 2015. The lawsuit asks the overpayment be refunded to the people who paid MTRV fees.

Well-known immigration lawyer, Richard Kurland, who is editor of Canada’s leading immigration publication Lexbase, says that this may be the largest class action ever in Canada, with over two million fees paid, affecting mainly people visiting from China, India, and Philippines, many of whom are now voting Canadian citizens.

Kurland noted that this is not taxpayer money. This is money that has been overpaid to the government. The facts are not in dispute. These are the government’s own numbers, and their own admissions. The government’s position is overpayments made by people are not recoverable, which would be an alarming precedent affecting all Canadians.