Judicial review of a citizenship decision: Preparing the Certified Tribunal Record
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
The certified tribunal record (CTR) is a fundamental and required component of the citizenship judicial review process at the Federal Court. Any inadvertent errors present in the CTR may generate serious or unforeseen consequences.
Step 1
Filing the leave application to seek judicial review
By the applicant
The applicant files the leave application with the Federal Court. The applicant then serves the notice on the Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ then notifies the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Litigation Management Unit (BCL).
The BCL in turn informs the local CIC office who ensures that the decision-maker or the judge receives a copy of the application for leave for their records.
By the Minister
The BCL instructs the DOJ to file an application for leave on behalf of the Minister. The DOJ will then send the BCL a copy of the filed application for leave. See the procedures on the process for a judicial review initiated by the Minister.
Step 2
Documents to include in the CTR
The CTR must contain the documents listed below, in the following order:
- A copy of the citizenship application, including a copy of all the documents submitted by the applicant.
- A copy of the Notice to the Minister of the Decision of the Citizenship Judge [CIT 0053, CIT 0489 or CIT 0056], if applicable.
- A copy of the citizenship officer's decision form, if applicable.
- A copy of the Citizenship Application Review form, if applicable.
- A copy of all other documents that the decision-maker or judge examined in order to render their decision. The rest of the documents in the CTR must be in chronological order (starting with the application, the form or notes of the decision-maker or judge, the refusal letter and the most recent supporting documents on top).
- From the applicant, a copy of the delivery manifest, indicating the date the refusal letter was sent to the applicant. This is important as the 30 days begin the day after the applicant is notified or informed of the negative decision.
See also the documents to be excluded from the CTR.
Step 3
Preparing the master copy of the CTR
The citizenship officer must consult with the BCL before preparing the CTR to verify if certain information should not be disclosed in the CTR.
Learn more on how to prepare the CTR.
Step 4
Entering a case note in GCMS
The local CIC office enters a case note indicating that the applicant has filed an application seeking judicial review and notes the date.
Note: The local CIC office keeps the original record until the end of the litigation process.
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