The Immigration Division (ID), of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), conducts admissibility hearings for certain categories of people believed to be inadmissible to Canada under the law.
At the request of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), foreign nationals or permanent residents who are believed to have contravened the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) appear before the ID for admissibility hearings. In a limited number of cases, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) may also request an admissibility hearing. In some cases, the CBSA has the power to issue removal orders directly (only for foreign national and more simple cases); this means that it can remove the person from Canada without requesting an admissibility hearing.
A person may not be able to enter or remain in Canada for one of the following reasons:
- Security (s. 34)
- Human or international rights violations (s. 35)
- Serious criminality (s. 36)
- Organized criminality (s. 37)
- Health grounds (s. 38)
- Financial reasons (s. 39)
- Misrepresentation (s. 40)
- Non-compliance with the IRPA (s. 41)
- Inadmissible family member (s. 42)
A member (decision-maker) will conduct the hearing according to the IRB
tribunal process. The process is adversarial. There are two opposing parties: the person concerned and Minister's counsel for the CBSA. Minister's counsel argues why the person should not be allowed to enter or remain in Canada. The person concerned, or his or her counsel, will respond. After considering all the evidence, the member decides whether or not the allegations are founded.
The person concerned or Minister’s counsel may apply to the
Federal Court of Canada for permission for a judicial review of any IRB decision. In some circumstances, Minister's counsel or the person concerned may apply to the Immigration Appeal Division.