If your parents or grandparents’ immigration application has been refused, you may still have options. The appropriate remedy will depend on the reason for the refusal and the circumstances of the case.
Why parents and grandparents applications are refused
There are several reasons why an application to sponsor parents or grandparents may be refused. One of the more common reasons is that the sponsor is found not to meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) requirements. In some cases, the sponsor may otherwise be found ineligible to sponsor.
Another possible reason for refusal is the medical condition of the applicant. Parents or grandparents may be found medically inadmissible if their medical condition is determined to create an excessive demand on health or social services.
A criminal record can also result in a refusal, although this is less common in parents and grandparents’ applications. Misrepresentation, however, can be a significant issue and is a potential ground for refusal in many types of immigration applications.
The ground of refusal matters because it decides which remedy is open. The table below sets out how the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act treats each one. The requirements a sponsor must meet in the first place are covered in our article on sponsoring your parents or grandparents.
| Reason for the refusal | Appeal to the IAD? | Where this comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Sponsor below the Minimum Necessary Income | Generally available — humanitarian factors can be weighed | IRPA s. 63(1), 67(1)(c) |
| Medical inadmissibility (excessive demand) | Generally available — humanitarian factors can be weighed | IRPA s. 63(1), 67(1)(c) |
| Criminality | Not available for serious criminality; otherwise available | IRPA s. 64(1)–(2) |
| Misrepresentation | Not available for parents or grandparents | IRPA s. 64(3) |
| Not a member of the family class | Very limited — humanitarian factors cannot be considered | IRPA s. 65 |
Can you appeal a refusal?
In certain circumstances, a refusal of a sponsorship application may be appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD).
However, not every refusal is appealable. The right of appeal depends on the nature of the refusal and the applicant’s circumstances.
For example, if the sponsored person is found not to be a member of the family class, there may be no right of appeal to the IAD. This can arise in certain situations involving the legal definition of a parent or grandparent, including circumstances involving adoption or a step-parent relationship.
The refund question that decides whether you can appeal
There is another important issue that sponsors should understand before submitting the sponsorship application.
When you submit a sponsorship application, you are asked whether, if the sponsorship application is refused, you want to continue processing the application of the sponsored family member or receive a refund of the processing fees.
This choice can have significant consequences. If you choose to receive a refund and the sponsorship application is subsequently refused, you are losing the ability to appeal the refusal to the IAD.
For this reason, I generally advise my clients to choose the option to continue processing the application rather than requesting a refund.
Why is this important? Because, in appropriate cases, an appeal to the IAD may provide an opportunity to challenge the refusal and present additional evidence, including evidence relating to the humanitarian and compassionate circumstances of the family.
The reason is technical. Section 63(1) of the Act gives the sponsor a right to appeal “a decision not to issue the foreign national a permanent resident visa.” When the file is closed and the fees are refunded, no decision on the parents’ visa is ever made — so there is no decision to appeal.
The 30-day deadline
A sponsorship appeal starts with a notice of appeal that must reach the Immigration Appeal Division within 30 days after the sponsor receives the refusal decision and the officer’s written reasons. It is filed with the IRB regional office for the province where the sponsor lives, together with a copy of the refusal letter. Thirty days passes quickly while a family is still absorbing the news, so the date the letter arrived is the first thing worth writing down. Missing the deadline can end an appeal before it starts.
Once an appeal is filed, the Minister prepares an appeal record — the documents the refusal was based on — and provides it to the IAD and to the sponsor. That record is often the first complete view a family gets of what the officer actually relied on.
What happens at a sponsorship appeal
An appeal to the IAD is a new hearing, not a paper review of the officer’s work. The sponsor can testify, call witnesses and file evidence the visa officer never saw. Under section 67(1) of the Act, the IAD may allow an appeal if the refusal was wrong in law or fact, if a principle of natural justice was not observed, or if sufficient humanitarian and compassionate considerations — taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected — warrant special relief.
The IAD makes that decision on the circumstances as they stand when the appeal is decided, not as they stood on the day of the refusal. Evidence such as the sponsor’s current income, support from other family members in Canada, the parents’ health and living situation abroad, and their relationship with grandchildren in Canada can all be relevant. Some sponsorship appeals are resolved through the IAD’s alternative dispute resolution process, a less formal conference, rather than a full hearing.
When there is no appeal: judicial review
Where the IAD has no jurisdiction — for example, a refusal of a parent or grandparent based on misrepresentation, or on serious criminality — the remaining route is usually an application for leave and judicial review in the Federal Court. Judicial review is not a rehearing. The Court examines whether the officer’s decision was reasonable and procedurally fair; if it was not, the usual result is that the application is sent back to be decided again by a different officer.
The time limit is shorter than for an appeal: under section 72 of the Act, 15 days for a matter arising in Canada and 60 days for a matter arising outside Canada. A misrepresentation finding also carries its own consequences, including a five-year bar on applying for permanent residence, so it needs to be looked at the moment the refusal arrives.
Keeping the family together in the meantime
An appeal can take many months. For parents and grandparents who want to spend time with their family in Canada while the sponsorship question is resolved, the parent and grandparent super visa is a separate, temporary route. It allows visits of up to five years at a time and can be valid for up to ten years with multiple entries. It has its own requirements — including an income threshold for the child or grandchild in Canada, private medical insurance and an immigration medical exam — and it is assessed as a visitor application, so the officer must be satisfied that the parent will leave Canada at the end of the authorized stay. It does not replace permanent residence. Our earlier article on parent and grandparent sponsorship and the super visa compares the two.
A refusal is not necessarily the end
A refusal is therefore not necessarily the end of the process. However, the availability of an appeal and the possible grounds for an appeal must be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
If your parents’ or grandparents’ application has been refused, it is important to review the refusal letter and the complete immigration file before determining what remedy, if any, is available.
Angelina Shuster is a licensed paralegal and represents sponsors on appeals to the Immigration Appeal Division, including appeals that rely on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. Where a refusal turns on misrepresentation, the route is different and the time limits are shorter. A refusal letter can be reviewed through a free assessment.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every refusal turns on its own facts and on the reasons the officer gave.
