Inadmissibility, Removals, and Detention

A person can be found inadmissible for non-compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Normally a person who is found inadmissible will not be able to enter Canada or can face removal proceedings if already in Canada.

The following are common causes of inadmissibility:

• Misrepresentation– this includes providing false information, or withholding information that would be relevant to an immigration decision
• Medical Inadmissibility– this includes conditions that endanger public health or safety, or cause an excessive demand on health or social services
• Financial Inadmissibility– an inability or unwillingness to support oneself or family members
• Criminal Inadmissibility– this includes committing certain crimes, for example driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs
• Security, human or international rights violations– this includes terrorism offenses or war crimes violations
• Non-compliance with IRPA- this includes non-compliance with the PR residency requirement, an overstay, or working or studying without the proper permit

When an Officer has grounds to believe that a person is inadmissible, a Section 44 Report may be written up about person. A Section 44 Report is a report that sets out an Officer’s reasons as to why a person is inadmissible to Canada. The name comes from the section of IRPA that describes an Officer’s authority to issue such a report. A person may have the opportunity to advocate both before a report is written, and after the report is written but before it is referred to the Immigration Division. It is important that a person present favourable arguments or evidence in their case at the earliest possible opportunity in the process.

To overcome a criminal inadmissibility, a person may have the option of applying for criminal rehabilitation. An application for criminal rehabilitation is made by a person who is criminally inadmissible to show that they now lead a stable lifestyle and are unlikely to reoffend. A person may also be deemed rehabilitated if a certain amount of time has passed since the offenses were committed or the sentence was completed. In that situation an application for criminal rehabilitation may not be required.

If the offense was committed in Canada, to remove a criminal inadmissibility an application for a record suspension (formerly called a “pardon”) would be required instead of a criminal rehabilitation application.

If a person is not eligible to apply for criminal rehabilitation or faces another inadmissibility and needs to come to Canada, another option may be to apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). Please see information under our section “Visit Canada” for more information on TRP’s.

Once a person receives a removal order, they cannot legally remain in Canada and must leave the country in accordance with the Removal Order. A person may appeal their Removal Order to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD).

There are three types of Removal Orders that may be issued:

• Departure Order- with a Departure Order, a person must leave Canada within 30 days. They may be able to return to Canada in the future provided they meet the entry requirements at that time.
• Exclusion Order– a person cannot return to Canada for one year. If an Exclusion Order has been issued for misrepresentation, they cannot return to Canada for five years.
• Deportation Order- a person is permanently barred from returning to Canada

If a person would like to return to Canada and they still have a removal order in place, they must make an application for an Authorization to Return (ARC). An ARC is an application made by a person explaining why they want to return to Canada earlier than they are allowed and makes arguments of why they should be able to do so.

A person can be detained for immigration purposes either at a port of entry to Canada or once in Canada.  When detained, a person will be placed either in one of three CBSA immigration Holding Centres (IHC), or if in a province that does not a have an IHC, at a provincial correctional facility.

A person may be detained upon entry to Canada if an Officer considers it necessary to do so for an entry examination to be completed or if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality, criminality or organized criminality.

The factors considered in detention proceedings in Canada are whether the person:

• is unlikely to appear for examination, an admissibility hearing, removal from Canada, or at a proceeding that could lead to the making of a removal order;
• is a danger to the public; or
• is a foreign national whose identity has not been established

Once detained, a person is entitled to have a review of the reasons for their detention (called a Detention Review) within 48 hours, and then again within 7 days after this first review, and then again within 30 days following the last review. 

A detention review is a hearing before a member of the Immigration Division (ID), who will decide on whether that person should continue to be detained. A representative of the Minister will also attend this hearing and explain to the member of the ID why that person in being detained. At this hearing, the person being detained can present arguments in favour of release. This could include presenting an alternative to detention plan, which is a set of conditions that the person will promise to follow if released.