A refugee claimant who cannot attend a hearing at the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) can apply in writing to change its date or time. Under Rule 54 of the Refugee Protection Division Rules, the application has to reach the Division at least three working days before the hearing, it has to offer three alternative dates, and in most situations it is allowed only when there are exceptional circumstances.
One rule sits above all the others. Rule 54(10) keeps the hearing where it is until the Division sends a decision granting the change. A party who has no such decision appears on the date and time already fixed, ready to start. Sending the request does not move the hearing. Only a decision does.
Which of the two tracks in Rule 54 applies?
Rule 54 contains two different routes, and they are judged by different standards. The general track covers illness, emergencies and other reasons. A separate track in Rule 54(5) exists for claimants who had no counsel, or could not give their counsel's availability, when the officer fixed the hearing date at the time the claim was referred.
| Point | General track, Rule 54(2) to (4) | Counsel track, Rule 54(5) |
|---|---|---|
| Who uses it | Any party, for any reason | A claimant without counsel, or without counsel's dates, when the hearing date was fixed |
| Deadline | Without delay, and received at least three working days before the hearing (medical reasons and other emergencies excepted) | Without delay, and no later than five working days after the day the hearing date was fixed |
| Alternative dates | At least three, no later than 10 working days after the original date | At least three dates when counsel is available, within the time limits the Regulations set for hearing the claim |
| Standard the Division applies | Not allowed unless there are exceptional circumstances, such as accommodating a vulnerable person, or an emergency outside the party's control where the party acted diligently | Must be allowed, subject to operational limitations, if counsel was retained within five working days, is not available on the fixed date, and the application is in writing |
The difference matters. On the counsel track the Division has very little discretion once the five conditions are met. On the general track the starting point is that the date stays.
The deadlines, counted in working days
Every time limit in Rule 54 is counted in working days, so weekends and holidays fall out of the count. Placed on one line, the sequence looks like this:
- The day the officer fixes the hearing dateThe clock for the counsel track starts here. Counsel has to be retained, and the written application made, within five working days.
- As soon as the reason is knownBoth tracks require the application to be made without delay. The IRB form asks when the claimant became aware of the reason, so the gap between that date and the application is visible to the member.
- Three working days before the hearingThe last day a written application on the general track can be received, unless it is made for medical reasons or another emergency.
- The hearing day itselfIf the written deadline could not be met, Rule 54(3) requires the party to appear and make the application orally, before the time fixed for the hearing.
- Up to 10 working days after the original dateIf the application is allowed, Rule 54(11) says the new date has to fall within this window, or as soon as possible after it. This is why the alternative dates offered have to sit inside the same window.
A hearing fixed for a Monday, for example, needs a written general-track application received by the Wednesday of the week before. If a medical emergency arises on the Saturday, the three-day limit no longer applies to it, but the application is still made at once.
What the IRB's application form asks for
The IRB publishes a three-page form called Application to change the date or time of a proceeding. Its sections follow the rule closely:
- Who is applying
- The claimant or protected person, or the Minister, with the name and RPD or UCI file number of every person in the proceeding.
- Counsel and the scheduled date
- The name of counsel, or a box stating the claimant has no one representing them, and the date of the scheduled proceeding.
- The reason
- Boxes for a medical reason, the need to hire counsel, counsel only recently hired, more time to prepare (for example, to obtain documents), vulnerability, and other. Each asks for an explanation, such as the efforts made to find counsel or the documents still awaited.
- The explanation box
- Limited to 580 characters. Supporting pages may be attached, with a note on why each is attached.
- The Minister
- If the Minister is a party, for instance after a Notice of Intention to Intervene, a copy goes to the Minister and the form records how it was sent.
The form states that a claimant without counsel can send it by email to the RPD applications address, that counsel uses My Case Portal, and that it can also be delivered in person, by fax or by mail to the regional RPD Registry. It also repeats the rule from Rule 54(10): when no answer has arrived before the hearing, the claimant attends and the member decides the application at the start of the proceeding.
How medical reasons are proven
When the reason is the claimant's own health, Rule 54(6) requires a legible, recently dated medical certificate signed by a qualified medical practitioner whose name and address are printed or stamped on it. If a copy is sent first, the original follows without delay.
What the certificate sets out
The particulars of the condition that prevent the person from taking part on the fixed date, and the date by which the person is expected to be able to take part (Rule 54(7)).
What it leaves out
The diagnosis itself. The rule asks for the effect of the condition on attending, not the name of the illness, which keeps private medical details off the file.
Where no certificate can be obtained, Rule 54(8) asks for three things instead: details of the efforts made to get one, details of the medical reasons, both supported by corroborating evidence, and an explanation of how the condition prevents participation on that date.
What happens after a refused application
A refusal is not the end of the rule, but it narrows it. Under Rule 54(9), the Division considers the reasons it gave for the first denial, and a second application is not allowed unless there are exceptional circumstances supported by new evidence. Repeating the first request with the same documents meets neither part of that test.
After any refusal, the duty in Rule 54(10) applies in full: the hearing goes ahead on the fixed date, and the claimant is expected to be there and ready.
What follows when a claimant does not appear
A missed hearing does not end a claim on the spot, but it opens the abandonment process. Section 168(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act provides that a Division:
"may determine that a proceeding before it has been abandoned if the Division is of the opinion that the applicant is in default in the proceedings, including by failing to appear for a hearing"
Before that happens, Rule 65 of the Refugee Protection Division Rules gives the claimant a chance to explain. For a missed hearing, Rule 65(3) sets a special hearing no later than five working days after the day originally fixed. The Division weighs the explanation and other relevant factors, including whether the claimant is ready to start or continue. If the explanation rests on medical reasons, the same certificate requirements apply, with the original document provided at that point.
This is why the oral application on the day carries weight. A claimant who appears and asks for the change is in a very different position from one who stays home and explains later. The site's older article on the abandoned refugee claim covers what an abandonment decision means for the claim, and our walkthrough of what happens at a refugee hearing at the RPD describes the hearing that the date leads to.
Where Karb Law fits in
Angelina Shuster is a licensed paralegal, and the Immigration and Refugee Board is a federal tribunal where paralegals may represent claimants. Karb Law prepares claimants for RPD hearings and handles the scheduling applications around them as part of its refugee claim work. A notice to appear and the reasons a date is hard to keep can be reviewed through a free assessment.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create a paralegal-client relationship. Whether a hearing date is changed is decided by the Refugee Protection Division on the facts of each application.
