Your Legal Options
If your claim has been found ineligible under Bill C-12, or you have received a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL), you are not without options. Here are the main legal avenues available:
If you received a PFL, you have 21 days to submit additional information or evidence about your entry circumstances. This step is critical — missing the deadline may result in your claim being terminated without further review. IRCC says this information "may be relevant when assessing eligibility" for IRB referral.
- Gather any documents proving your entry date, travel history, and reasons for delay in filing.
- Explain any exceptional circumstances — illness, language barriers, lack of legal information, etc.
- Seek a lawyer immediately if you haven't already. Legal Aid may cover this step.
If your claim is found ineligible for IRB referral, you may still be offered a PRRA. This is an assessment of the risk you would face if removed from Canada. It can still result in refugee protection being granted.
- The PRRA acceptance rate is approximately 33%, compared to 63% at the IRB — a significant difference.
- PRRA does not guarantee an oral hearing. This is a serious procedural concern raised by legal advocates.
- If you are from a country with suspended removals (Ukraine, Haiti, Yemen, Venezuela), you may face additional procedural barriers.
- Filing a PRRA within the regulatory timelines stays (pauses) your removal until a decision is made.
- Your Basis of Claim (BOC) form, prepared during your original refugee claim, will be useful for the PRRA — keep it and all supporting documents.
An H&C application asks IRCC to grant an exemption from normal immigration requirements based on the hardship you would face if forced to leave Canada. It is a separate process from refugee claims and can be filed in parallel.
- Key factors include: establishment in Canada (employment, community ties, language), best interests of any children, and the risks and hardships you would face in your country of origin.
- An H&C application can sometimes defer removal while it is being decided.
- H&C does not provide refugee status — it can lead to permanent residence on humanitarian grounds.
- It is not a substitute for refugee protection, but it is an important tool in a broader legal strategy.
If your PRRA is denied, you may apply for Judicial Review at the Federal Court of Canada. This is a legal challenge arguing that the officer made an error in law or in applying the facts.
- You generally have 15 days after receiving a negative decision to file for leave to appeal at Federal Court.
- Advocates have recommended that people subject to the new ineligibility provisions should be afforded a statutory stay of removal pending judicial review — this is currently a point of active legal advocacy.
- Constitutional challenges to Bill C-12 are also possible — the CBA and others have raised concerns about Charter compliance (particularly the right to an oral hearing, established in the 1985 Singh decision).
If CBSA is moving to remove you and has refused to defer removal, you can apply to the Federal Court for an emergency stay of removal. This is an urgent legal remedy.
- A deferral or stay may be appropriate if you have a pending H&C application, judicial review, or PRRA that could make the removal unnecessary.
- CBSA officers have discretion to defer removal if removing the person before a pending decision would cause irreparable harm.
- This process moves very quickly — you need a lawyer immediately.