Hearings and Appeals

Immigration Appeal Division

The Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) hears and decides appeals on immigration matters such as appeals from refused sponsorship applications and from removal orders.

Sponsorship Appeals

A sponsorship applications may be refused for various reasons including the genuineness of the relationship, financial reasons, criminality, health grounds, misrepresentations and non-compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)

In most cases there is an opportunity to resolve the appeal prior to a formal hearing. We can attend with you to try and resolve this matter as the earliest opportunity.

Appeals of Removal Orders

Permanent residents, protected persons and foreign nationals who hold valid permanent resident visas may appeal removal orders made against them. The cases typically involve criminality, misrepresentation, failure to comply with terms and conditions of landing or failure to comply with residency obligation.

Federal Court Judicial Review

Applicants have the right to seek a judicial review of any immigration decision in the Federal Court of Canada, whether the decision was made in Canada or outside of Canada. Decision-makers often make mistakes and we have the professional experience to determine whether refused applicants may have grounds for an appeal or judicial review. Applicants in Canada have 15 days from the date they receive the negative decision to start the judicial review in the Federal Court, but applicants outside Canada have 60 days.

We prepare, serve and file the prescribed immigration application forms, affidavits and written legal arguments on behalf of our clients. We appear at all hearings and judicial proceedings. If the application is successful, the Federal Court may set aside the refusal and refer the case for redetermination to a different decision-maker on terms the Court considers appropriate.

Admissibility Hearings and Detention Reviews

Admissibility Hearings

The Immigration Division conducts admissibility hearings for certain categories of people that an immigration official has deemed inadmissible to or removable from Canada under the immigration act.

The admissibility hearing is adversarial. Individuals may have legal representation and we recommend that individuals have experienced counsel to prepare them for the hearing and to vigorously represent them at the hearing to respond to the allegations against them.

Detention Reviews

A detention review is a review of an immigration detention, in which the detainee has the right to an independent hearing to review why he or she is being detained and whether or not there are alternatives to detention.

An initial detention review hearing will normally occur within 48 hours of an individual’s detention and subsequent hearings take place at set intervals following the first hearing. We represent our clients at these hearings and help negotiate terms of release.