Federal Court of Canada Upholds Decision on Refugee Claims of Himmat Singh and Surjeet Kaur

Strategic Insights -

Himmat Singh and Surjeet Kaur, citizens of India and Afghanistan, fled Afghanistan for India in 1992 and claimed refugee protection in India. After 27 years of living in Delhi, they obtained Indian citizenship documents and passports by paying officials. The couple later came to Canada in January 2020 and filed refugee claims in March 2021, citing fear of persecution as Afghan Sikhs living in India and a risk to their lives from a former landlord. The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) found that the Applicants were not Convention refugees nor persons in need of protection.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Applicants, Himmat Singh and Surjeet Kaur, are citizens of India and Afghanistan who obtained Indian citizenship documents and passports by paying officials.
  • The couple fled Afghanistan for India in 1992 and claimed refugee protection in India, but were not accepted as Indian citizens.
  • They later came to Canada in January 2020 and filed refugee claims in March 2021, citing fear of persecution as Afghan Sikhs living in India and a risk to their lives from a former landlord.
  • The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) found that the Applicants were not Convention refugees nor persons in need of protection.
  • The Applicants appealed the decision to the Federal Court of Canada, but their application was dismissed.
  • The court found that the RAD conducted an independent assessment and concluded that the Applicants had not rebutted the presumption that they are Indian citizens.
  • The Applicants failed to engage with specific findings made by the RAD, which included references in their BOC forms and testimony that they were naturalized citizens of India, and the fact that they described the process to obtain their Indian citizenship as being detailed with "quite a lot of investigations".
  • The Canadians (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v. Vavilov (2019 SCC 65) standard of review was applied, which assessed whether the decision bears the requisite hallmarks of justification, transparency and intelligibility.

Statistics:

  • The Applicants paid officials to obtain Indian citizenship documents and passports.
  • 27 years: The length of time the Applicants lived in Delhi, India.
  • 2020: The year the Applicants came to Canada.
  • March 2021: The month the Applicants filed their refugee claims.
  • 17 years: The length of time the Applicants resided in India before applying for citizenship.

Sources:

  • Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration) v Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65
  • Mijatovic v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2006 FC 685
  • Radic v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), [1994] FCJ No 1376, 85 FTR 65
  • Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, para 10, 25
  • Vavilov, 2019 SCC 65, para 99, 100