Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications

If you are living in Canada without status and believe that you have strong ties to Canada and would face severe hardship if you were to return to your country you can apply for permanent resident status by filing a Humanitarian and Compassionate application. Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) allows someone to apply for permanent resident status if they can show that they would face unusual and undeserved or disproportionate hardship if they had to leave Canada and return to their country. This includes failed refugee claimants if more than a year has passed since the case was lost or someone who has been living in Canada a long time without status. The Officer examining the application will look at many factors including how long you have been in Canada, your establishment, whether you have family members in Canada, conditions of your home country and the best interest of your children who are under the age of 18. The best interest of your children is one of the most important factors an Officer will consider. It is important to provide as much information and evidence that you have in order to give you the best possible chance of having an Officer approve your humanitarian and compassionate application. Since Humanitarian and Compassionate applications are ongoing and can take anywhere from 1-3 years for a decision you can add any new information that you believe is important up until the time a decision is made. If you’re Humanitarian and Compassionate application is refused and you believe that the decision was not fair you have the right to file a Judicial Review application in the Federal Court of Canada. You will need to seek the advice of an experienced immigration lawyer or consultant in order to decide if Judicial Review is appropriate in your case.