Humanitarian and Compassionate Program
Humanitarian and Compassionate Program
When individuals with exceptional cases are not eligible to apply for permanent residence, they may become permanent residents based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds ( H&C).
Citizenship and Immigration Canada assesses such applications on a case-by-case basis and applicants must provide persuasive factors to be allowed to immigrate to Canada under the H&C program. Applicants may apply for permanent residence in Canada or to the visa office outside Canada. However, approval rates of H&C applications are higher for applications submitted in Canada.
Main factors to be considered by the immigration officer:
- How settled the person is in Canada
- If the applicant has family ties to Canada
- The best interests of any child involved
- Consequences of not allowing the applicant to stay in Canada
- Applicant should have sufficient money to cover living expenses in Canada
- Community support and active social life of the applicant in Canada is very helpful to prove the ties in Canada
- Case-specific supporting documents must be prepared to support the claim based on the circumstances of each applicant
Who can apply for humanitarian and compassionate program?
- Spousal Sponsorship applications may include H&C grounds
- Permanent Residents not meeting the residency requirements ( PR card renewal)
- If you have an order to leave Canada (this is called a removal order), you may be able to apply to stay in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, unless any of the below restrictions apply to you
- Parents or close family members of permanent residents of Canada not meeting eligibility requirements of immigration program(s)
- Removal orders
- Other PR applicants ( to be determined upon assessment by Lawyer or an Immigration Consultant)
Restrictions:
- Applicants claiming risk factors such as persecution, risk to life, cruel and unusual treatment or punishment may not apply for H&C program
- Refugee claimants must withdraw application before the hearing in order to be eligible for H&C consideration
- Individuals who received a negative decision on a refugee claim within the last 12 months before the application are not eligible for H&C program unless he/she has a children under 18 who would be adversely affected if removed from Canada, or has a proof that one of the dependants suffers from a life-threatening medical condition that cannot be treated in applicant’s home country.
Five-year bar is applied to the following cases
- Designated foreign nationals
- Refugee claimants with negative decision received from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
- Individuals with negative decision on a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA)
Applicants under removal order
Application for H&C does not prevent or delay removal from Canada. However, removals may be deferred on a case-by-case basis.
Appeals
There is no right to appeal H&C refusals. However, we have successfully resubmitted complex H&C applications and received favorable decisions for our clients in Canada.
Contact us today if you are seeking assistance to apply for a Humanitarian and Compassionate Program.
