Inside the ruling: Why Thomas Partey's Canada court challenge failed

Thomas Partey's bid to secure entry into Canada ahead of Ghana's opening match at the 2026 FIFA World Cup was dismissed after a Federal Court judge concluded that the midfielder had failed to meet the legal requirements for emergency relief.

Justice Roger R. Lafreniere delivered the ruling on Tuesday, rejecting Partey's motion and allowing Canada's decision to deny him entry to remain in force.

Here are the key reasons behind the decision:

The judge noted that Partey's lawyers initially sought an emergency order allowing him to enter Canada for Ghana's World Cup match against Panama.

However, during the hearing, his legal team acknowledged that the Federal Court does not have the jurisdiction to order immigration authorities to issue a visa through an emergency motion.

Instead, they asked the court to compel Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to urgently reconsider both the visa refusal and the request for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP).

The judge ruled that such relief could only be sought through the normal judicial review process, not through the emergency application before the court.

A central issue was whether Canada's visa officer had made a reviewable error.

Justice Lafreniere concluded that Partey had failed to establish that immigration officials ignored evidence or misunderstood the facts.

"The totality of the reasons provided... demonstrates there is no serious issue in the underlying refusal," the ruling stated.

The court also reaffirmed that visa officers are presumed to have considered all the evidence unless proven otherwise.

Partey's legal team argued that because he has not been convicted of any offence, Canada should not have declared him inadmissible.

The judge rejected that argument.

Under paragraph 36(1)(c) of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the court ruled that a criminal conviction is not required.

Instead, immigration authorities only need "reasonable grounds to believe" an offence has been committed.

The ruling states that Parliament intentionally drafted the law to cover people who have been charged but whose cases have not yet gone to trial.

"The fact that the Applicant has not been convicted... is irrelevant," Justice Lafrenière wrote.

The judgment also highlighted issues surrounding Partey's visa application.

According to the court, Partey answered "No" when asked whether he had ever been charged with a criminal offence.

After reviewing publicly available information, IRCC issued a Procedural Fairness Letter asking him to explain the discrepancy.

Although Partey later submitted documents confirming the charges and that he had pleaded not guilty, the judge found he never adequately explained why that information had not been disclosed in his original application.

The court concluded that the issue had been properly put to him before the visa decision was made.

Partey's lawyers argued that missing the World Cup would damage both his reputation and Ghana's tournament campaign.

The court disagreed.

Justice Lafrenière ruled that any reputational damage stems primarily from the criminal charges in England, not from Canada's immigration decision.

While acknowledging that missing the World Cup would be significant for Partey personally and for Ghana, the judge found it did not satisfy the strict legal test for irreparable harm.

Finally, the court held that the balance of convenience favoured Canada.

The judge ruled that granting emergency relief would undermine the integrity of Canada's immigration system and Parliament's decision to enforce inadmissibility rules relating to serious criminality.

According to the ruling, the public interest in consistently applying those laws outweighed Partey's request to enter Canada for a single World Cup match.

Although the court dismissed the emergency application, Justice Lafrenière urged Canadian immigration authorities to deal quickly with Partey's outstanding request for reconsideration and his application for a Temporary Resident Permit.

However, the judge stopped short of ordering IRCC to grant either request.

As a result, Partey remains unable to enter Canada and has been ruled out of Ghana's World Cup opener against Panama, although he remains eligible to feature in the Black Stars' remaining Group L matches in the United States if no further immigration issues arise.

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