Refugees

Refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well founded fear of persecution.

Refugee Humanitarian and Compassionate are two different streams. Refugees are forced to flee their country and are not able to return back. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), along with private sponsors, identifies refugees for resettlement. A person cannot apply directly to Canada for resettlement. After they are identified, it takes time to process the cases.

Grounds of Persecution

Humanitarian and Compassionate

People who would not normally be eligible to become permanent residents of Canada may be able to apply on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Humanitarian and compassionate grounds apply to people with exceptional cases. Canada assess these applications on a case-by-case basis. The key factors include:

  • The settlement of applicant in Canada
  • General family ties to Canada
  • Best interests of any children involved
  • What could happen to you if Canada does not grant the request

Few things to keep in mind!

  • H&C applies to only permanent resident applications

  • Temporary resident applications such as study permit, work permit, visitor visa etc. are not eligible.

  • You can not have more than 1 application on H&C ground at one time

  • Risk factors such as persecution, risk of life etc will not be assessed under H&C

  • You can not apply if you have a pending refugee claim, you must withdraw your refugee claim before H&C application.

  • You can not apply if you had a negative decision from IRB in last 12 months. There are some exceptions to this bar such as children and serious medical conditions (if any)