A bondsperson is the friend, relative or community worker who deposits money, or signs a promise to pay it, so that a person held under immigration law can be released on conditions. Section 58(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act lets the Immigration Division attach that money to a release order. The role usually includes supervising the released person, and it has no fixed end date. The Immigration and Refugee Board says it can last weeks, months or years.
The question normally comes up at a detention review, where a bond can be proposed as part of an alternative to detention. The sections below follow the role in the order a bondsperson meets it, from the rules on who may sign to the way it ends.
Who can be a bondsperson?
An adult who knows the detained person, comes forward freely and offers their own money can be considered, and the extra rules depend on the type of bond. A member of the Immigration Division decides whether the person is suitable. The rows below separate what applies to each bond.
| Requirement | Cash bond (deposit) | Performance bond (promise to pay) | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal capacity to contract in the province | Required | Required | Regulations, s. 47(1)(b) |
| No earlier promise to pay that is in default | Required | Required | Regulations, s. 47(1)(a) |
| Money that was legally obtained | Required. An officer refuses the deposit on reasonable grounds to believe otherwise. | Required, for the sum that may have to be paid | Regulations, s. 47(3) |
| Canadian citizen or permanent resident, physically present and living in Canada | Not listed for a deposit | Required | Regulations, s. 47(2)(a) |
| Evidence of the ability to pay, shown to an officer | Not listed for a deposit | Required | Regulations, s. 47(2)(c) |
| At least 18, and the person's own funds | Considered by the member. The funds can't belong to the detained person. | Considered by the member | IRB information sheet |
For a promise to pay, section 47(4) names what an officer, the Division or the Minister must weigh when asking whether this person can keep the released person within the conditions: their relationship, their financial situation, any earlier history with such a bond, and their criminal record. The list ends with any other relevant factor, so it isn't closed.
Where does the money go under each bond?
A cash bond leaves the bondsperson's hands before release, and a performance bond stays with them unless it is called on. The amount is offered by the bondsperson and settled by the member at the hearing, who can ask for one type or both.
Cash bond
- Before release: the CBSA explains how to pay, and the person stays in detention until the funds are deposited.
- During release: the Canada Border Services Agency holds the money.
- At the end: under s. 49(3), the deposit is returned once an officer determines the conditions were complied with.
Performance bond
- Before release: no money moves. The CBSA assesses proof of income or assets and decides how much the person qualifies for.
- During release: the signed promise stays open.
- At the end: nothing is paid when the conditions were followed. After a breach, the promise can be enforced and the government collects from the bondsperson.
What does the hearing ask of the bondsperson?
The hearing asks about the person's relationship with the detainee, their money and their plan for supervision, and it expects them to answer in person or by video. Most of this is already set out on the IRB's Bondsperson Information Form. The July 2024 version has these parts:
About the detained person
Full name, Immigration Division file number and client ID number.
About the proposed bondsperson
Name, immigration status, mailing address, email and daytime phone.
The relationship
How they know the person, for how long, and whether the person will live with them. If not, where the person will live and how the bondsperson will see that the conditions are followed.
Money
Occupation, employer, years in the job, annual income, total savings, and debts other than a mortgage.
Property
Whether they own a home or other property, any co-owners, the purchase price, the year and the mortgage still owed.
Bond offered
The amount offered as a cash bond and as a performance bond.
The form is optional, but its practice notice says the same information has to be available and that it does not replace testimony. When it is used, it goes to the Division and the CBSA as early as possible. It also lists what can support it at the hearing: a pay stub or letter of offer, bank information, mortgage documents or a property deed. The CBSA representative and the member can both put questions, and further questions can go beyond the form. Hearings are normally scheduled as virtual, so counsel for the detained person may pass on the time and the link.
What is signed when the person is released?
The bondsperson signs an acknowledgement that they know the conditions and know what breaking them means for the money. Section 49 and section 48 of the Regulations fill in the rest of the paperwork.
- The written acknowledgement covers both points under s. 49(1): being told the conditions, and being told that not following them leads to loss of the deposit or enforcement of the promise.
- An officer then issues a receipt for a deposit or a copy of the signed promise, along with a copy of the conditions.
- Where there is a performance bond, s. 48(1) makes it a condition on the released person to give the bondsperson's address to the authorities and to tell them before that address changes.
- Under s. 48 the released person must also appear wherever and whenever an officer or the Division requires it, on top of the conditions the member sets.
A member's own conditions can include reporting to the CBSA on a schedule, a curfew, living with a named person, or staying away from alcohol or drugs.
What happens if a release condition is broken?
Under s. 49(4), a deposit is forfeited, or a promise to pay becomes enforceable, when the released person fails to comply with a condition. The section speaks of "a condition", so it doesn't separate a missed report from a more serious breach. The bondsperson must tell the CBSA at once on learning that a condition isn't being followed, and the CBSA may also arrest and detain the person again.
A renewed detention brings its own review on the statutory schedule. Release does not cancel a removal order, and our article on departure, exclusion and deportation orders explains how each kind works.
When does the role end, and can a bondsperson step down?
The role ends when the person's immigration matters have concluded, and stepping down earlier takes a decision of the Immigration Division. The IRB treats removal as exceptional, giving the proposal of a new bondsperson as its example. The route has three parts:
- A written application goes to the Immigration Division. The IRB's Application to vary conditions of release form can be used for it.
- Copies go to the CBSA and to the released person, or to their counsel if they have one.
- The Division may decide in writing or may call a new hearing, and it can refuse the request.
The same form can be used when the released person's situation changes and they ask the Division to change or cancel a condition, with a copy to the CBSA.
Karb Law represents people at detention review hearings before the Immigration Division, including where a bondsperson is being proposed. Angelina Shuster is a paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario, and that tribunal work falls within a paralegal's licence. The free assessment form is the place to start for anyone with a hearing date.
This article is general information about Canadian immigration procedure. It is not legal advice and does not create a paralegal-client relationship.
