Humanitarian & compassionate applications in Toronto

An exemption from the rules

Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act lets the Minister grant permanent residence, or an exemption from any requirement of the Act, where humanitarian and compassionate considerations justify it, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected. In practice, most applications are made from inside Canada by people who don’t qualify under any other class. You must say clearly which requirements you need to be exempted from, for example not having status, or applying from inside Canada, and explain why.

A discretionary decision

There is no points grid and no guaranteed result. The Supreme Court of Canada has said officers must look at all the relevant circumstances together and ask whether they would move a reasonable person to relieve another’s misfortune, rather than applying a rigid test. That leaves room for a well-presented case, and it also means a thin application can be refused even when the circumstances are sympathetic.

What it can’t be used for

• It isn’t a risk assessment. For applicants in Canada, the officer can’t consider the factors decided in a refugee claim, such as persecution or risk to life, although the officer must still consider hardship, including discrimination and country conditions. Fear of persecution belongs in a refugee claim or a pre-removal risk assessment.
• It doesn’t stop removal. IRCC says applying won’t delay a removal already scheduled.
• Some people can’t use it at all: those inadmissible on security grounds, for human or international rights violations, under sanctions, or for organized criminality.
• There is no appeal. A refusal can only be challenged by judicial review in the Federal Court, with leave and a short deadline.

If another route may work, such as a spousal sponsorship from inside Canada, it’s usually considered first.

Establishment

Show a life built over time: employment letters and pay records, notices of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency, leases, bank statements, diplomas and course records, and letters from employers, landlords, faith communities and organisations you volunteer with. Letters are strongest when they are specific: how long the writer has known you, what you do, and what would be lost if you left. If you worked without authorization at some point, that needs to be addressed honestly rather than hidden.

Hardship

Hardship has to be connected to you personally, not just described in general terms. Country reports help when they are tied to your circumstances: your age, gender, health, family situation, how long you have been away, and whether you have anyone or anything to return to. Medical evidence should come from a treating professional and say what treatment you need and what would happen without it.

Best interests of the child

Where a child is directly affected, the officer must identify and examine the child’s interests with real attention. Useful evidence includes school records and report cards, letters from teachers and doctors, and where relevant, a professional assessment of how separation or relocation would affect the child. IRCC’s H&C application guide (IMM 5291) lists the factors officers consider, including the child’s age, establishment in Canada, health and schooling. The child’s interests are important, but they don’t automatically outweigh everything else.

The written submissions

A clear written submission ties the evidence to the factors, identifies the exemptions requested, and deals openly with the difficult facts in your history. It’s where most of our work on an H&C file goes.