New IAD Rules for immigration appeals have now come into force.
This webpage has been updated to reflect the new Rules.
If you have received a removal order, you may be able to appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) to stay in Canada.
These steps explain how to get started with your removal order appeal after:
- an admissibility hearing of the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board, or
- an examination by an immigration officer
Who can appeal
You can appeal if you received a removal order and:
- you are a permanent resident of Canada,
or
- you are a foreign national with a permanent resident visa,
or
- you are a Convention Refugee or Protected Person
Who cannot appeal
If you are a person described above, you cannot appeal if you were found
inadmissible to Canada for one of these reasons:
- being convicted of a crime that was punished in Canada with a sentence of six months or more in a Canadian prison
- committing or being convicted of a crime outside Canada that would be punished in Canada by a maximum prison term of ten years or more
- being involved in organized crime (for example, by smuggling people or laundering money)
- being a security threat (for example, by trying to overthrow a government or taking part in terrorism)
- violating human or international rights (for example, by committing war crimes)
Immigration appeals are public
Members of the public can attend most immigration appeal hearings. Information that you used in your appeal may appear in the IAD's written decision. The decision may be published on an official website about legal decisions. If a member of the public or the media asks for a copy of the documents in your appeal, the IAD will provide one.
The only time this cannot happen is when you or the Minister's Counsel have asked for and obtained a confidentiality order. This can happen if there are exceptional circumstances, for example, if your safety or your child's safety can be at risk.