Appeals

Certain immigration negative decisions can be appealed to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). Appeals must be filled promptly to preserve appeal rights.

Appeals to IRB can be made in the following cases:

Sponsorship Appeals

If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, and your application to sponsor the immigration of a close family member to Canada has been refused, you may appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days from the refusal date.

Removal order appeals

If you are a permanent resident of Canada, a refugee, or a foreign national with a permanent resident visa and you have been ordered removed from Canada, you may appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days from the refusal date.

Residency obligation appeals

Generally, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) requires permanent residents to be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days out of every five years. If you are outside Canada and a Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) visa office (also outside Canada) finds that you have not met this residency obligation, you may lose your permanent resident status. You may appeal the CIC decision to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 60 days from the refusal date.

Hearings

Refugee Hearing

Persons who feel they will be persecuted or otherwise at risk if they return to their home country, may be able to seek protection in Canada as a refugee. A refugge claim can be done in two ways:

  • At an airport, a seaport or a land border with an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency at the time of entrance in Canada OR,
  • At a local Citizenship and Immigration Canada office if already in Canada

Admissibility hearings

Foreign national or permanent residents who are believed by the immigration authorities to be inadmissible may have to attend an admissibility hearing to determine if they are are in fact inadmissible to Canada and if a removal action should be taken against them.

Detention Review Hearings

Foreign nationals or permanent residents who have been detained by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) for immigration reasons appear before the ID for detention reviews. CBSA may detain, or hold the foreign national or permanent resident if it has reasonable grounds to believe that they:

  • are unlikely to appear for an examination, hearing or removal
  • are a danger to the public
  • are inadmissible – that is, not allowed to enter or remain in Canada – for security reasons, or for violating human or international rights, or
  • have not established your identity to the CBSA’s satisfaction (this only applies to foreign nationals)