Appeals to the Immigration Appeal Division

The three appeals the IAD hears

Refused family class sponsorships

If IRCC refuses a permanent residence application you sponsored, for a spouse, partner, child, parent or grandparent, you as sponsor can usually appeal. Most sponsorship appeals involve spouses, and most of those turn on whether the marriage is genuine or was entered into mainly for immigration.

Some refusals cannot be appealed. Under section 64(3), there is no appeal from a misrepresentation refusal unless the person sponsored is your spouse, common-law partner or child. Where the person is not a member of the family class at all, for example because they were not declared and examined when you immigrated, the IAD cannot grant humanitarian relief.

Only refusals of applications made from outside Canada (“outland”) go to the IAD. Inland spousal refusals go to the Federal Court.

Removal orders

Permanent residents, protected persons and permanent resident visa holders can generally appeal a removal order. Section 64 removes the appeal for inadmissibility on security, human or international rights, or organized criminality grounds, and for serious criminality punished by a term of imprisonment of at least six months.

Residency obligation decisions

Permanent residents must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days in every five-year period, or meet one of the exceptions, such as accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse abroad (IRPA section 28). If an officer finds you have not met it, at a port of entry, at a visa office abroad, or on a travel document application, you can appeal.

Grounds of appeal

• Legal validity: the decision was wrong in law or fact, or there was a breach of natural justice.
• Humanitarian and compassionate grounds: taking into account the best interests of any child directly affected, there are sufficient humanitarian reasons to grant relief. For removal orders, the IAD weighs the long-established “Ribic” factors: how serious the conduct was, signs of rehabilitation, time in Canada, family and community support, hardship on removal, and the risk of reoffending.

How an appeal moves

1. Notice of appealFiled with the IAD within the deadline, with a copy of the decision.
2. Appeal recordThe Minister provides the record of the decision. We review it closely; it shows what the officer actually relied on.
3. Evidence and disclosureWe gather documents and witness evidence and file them within the IAD’s timelines.
4. Alternative dispute resolutionMany sponsorship and residency appeals are offered an ADR conference. The Minister’s counsel may agree the appeal should be allowed without a full hearing.
5. Hearing and decisionWitnesses testify, often including the sponsored spouse by video from abroad, and the member decides.

Outcomes

The IAD can allow the appeal, which for sponsorships sends the file back to IRCC for processing; dismiss it; or, for removal orders, stay removal on conditions such as keeping the peace and reporting changes. A stay is reviewed at the end of its term and can later be converted into an allowed appeal.

How ATWORLD IMMIGRATION helps

We prepare and present IAD appeals from the notice of appeal to the hearing. That includes witness preparation for sponsors and spouses, often in their first language, and advocacy at ADR conferences, where many appeals are resolved.

Last reviewed November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration law and IRB procedure change often; we confirm the current rules for your file at your consultation.