What happens after you receive a removal order in Canada?

If inadmissible to Canada, there are three different types of removal orders that you may receive.

The three types of removal orders

The first, and least “severe”, type of removal order is a departure order. With this type of removal order, the inadmissible party must depart Canada within 30 days of the departure order taking effect. They must also confirm their departure with CBSA at their port of exit. This removal order is the least severe of the three because it includes a condition citing that “if [the individual leaves] Canada and [follows] these procedures, [they] may return to Canada in the future [if they] meet the entry requirements at that time.”

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Note: A departure order evolves into a deportation order if the individual takes longer than 30 days to leave Canada or does not formally confirm their departure with CBSA. In that case, an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC) must be obtained if the person wants to come back to this country in the future.

The next most severe type of removal order is an exclusion order, which blocks re-entry to Canada for one year. This period extends to five years, however, if the order was handed down due to any kind of misrepresentation. Recipients of this order can explore returning to Canada in less than a year if they apply for an ARC. Finally, a crucial stipulation of exclusion orders is that if the CBSA paid for the removal of the individual in question, they must repay that amount.

The most severe type of removal order, deportation orders permanently bar the individual in question from returning to Canada unless they apply for an ARC. Much like the stipulation involved with exclusion orders, the individual being deported must repay any removal costs initially paid for by the CBSA and in this case, repayment of this cost is a precursor to being eligible to return to Canada at all.

Removal orders are not the end of the line

Despite receiving a removal order, it is important to understand that simply being ordered to leave Canada does not mark the end of one’s journey in this country.

In other words, recipients of removal orders have the option to appeal that decision, a process that changes slightly depending on the circumstances of an individual person’s situation.

Circumstance 1: Appealing a removal order made during an examination

A foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa or is a Canadian permanent resident/ protected person must provide their notice of appeal to the Division together with the removal order to appeal the decision.

The notice of appeal and the removal order must be received by the Immigration Appeal Division no later than 30 days after receipt of the removal order.

It is now the Appeal Division’s responsibility to provide the notice of appeal and the removal order to the Immigration Minister without delay, after which the Minister must prepare an appeal record that contains:

A table of contents
The removal order
Any relevant document(s) pertaining to the removal order or to an issue in the appeal
A description of the reasons behind the Minister’s decision to make the removal order

The Minister must now provide both the individual filing the appeal and the Immigration Appeal Division with the appeal record. At the same time, the Immigration Minister must provide the Immigration Appeal Division with a written statement of how and when the appeal record was provided to the person making the appeal.

Note: The process described in the paragraph above must be completed no later than 45 days after the Minister themselves received the notice of appeal

In a circumstance where the Immigration Appeal Division does not receive the appeal within 45 days, they may ask the Minister to explain why the appeal record was not provided on time and why the appeal record should be accepted late. Alternatively, the Appeal Division may schedule and start the hearing without (or with only part of) the appeal record.

Circumstance 2: Appealing a removal order made during an admissibility hearing

In this circumstance, any foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa or is a Canadian permanent resident (or a protected person) can do so if they provide their notice of appeal at the end of their hearing. The notice of appeal can either be provided by hand to the Immigration Division member who made the removal order or directly to the Immigration Appeal Division, together with the removal order.

At this moment, in cases that align with the first bullet point above, it is the duty of the Immigration Division to pass on the provided notice to the Immigration Appeal Division without delay.

In the case that the notice of appeal is given directly to the Immigration Appeal Division, the notice of appeal and the removal order must together be received within 30 of when the foreign national received the removal order. Like the other circumstance (by hand), the Immigration Appeal Division must provide the notice to the Immigration Division without delay

Following this step, the Immigration Appeal Division must provide both the notice of appeal and the removal order to the Immigration Minister without delay, during which time the Immigration Division must prepare an appeal record that contains:

A table of contents
The removal order
The transcript of the admissibility hearing
Any document(s) accepted as evidence at the admissibility hearing
A description of the reasons behind the Immigration Division’s decision to make the removal order

The Immigration Division must then, within 45 days of receiving the notice of appeal, provide the appeal record to the individual filing the appeal, the Minister, and the Immigration Appeal Division.

Getting help with appealing a removal order

Understanding all the details involved with removal order appeals can be confusing. However, retaining an immigration lawyer can make things a lot easier. Immigration law professionals can:

Help prepare an appeal
Ensure applicants avoid mistakes
Respond on an applicant’s behalf to the Canadian government
Use their expertise to avoid unnecessary delays throughout the different appeal processing steps