Permanent residents must be physically present in Canada for at least 730 days every five years, according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). You may lose your permanent resident status if you are a permanent resident who is outside of Canada and a visa officer (also outside of Canada) finds that you did not complete your residency obligations. You can file an appeal with the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) to explain why you should be allowed to keep your permanent resident status. This is referred to as a residence obligation appeal (IRPA paragraph 63(4)).

Who has the right to appeal?

If a Canadian overseas visa office finds that you did not meet your residency obligation as a permanent resident, you can file a residency obligation appeal.

Who is unable to file an appeal?

There are no limitations or exceptions when it comes to appealing a residence requirement. You will need to file a removal order appeal if you obtained a removal order inside Canada because you did not meet your residency requirement.

How do you begin an appeal?

You have 60 days from the date of the refusal to file an appeal with the IAD.

To appeal a residency requirement, you must provide the following documents:
⦁ a filled-out Notice of Appeal form for each member of your family who is affected by the decision
⦁ two copies of the foreign visa office’s decision

Proceedings Open to the Public

Public hearings on immigration appeals are common. This implies that any information you provide in your appeal will be considered public and may appear in your judgement. It’s possible that your decision will be made public on the internet. Unless a secrecy order is obtained or special circumstances exist, the public and the media will be given a copy of the documents in your appeal upon request.

Getting ready for your appeal

Obtaining the appeal file

In most situations, the Minister would be asked to provide the appeal record to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). The appeal record contains all of the facts linked to your application for a permanent resident travel document being denied. Within 120 days after the date requested, the Minister must provide it to you and the IAD.

Informational requests
An IAD officer may call you or your counsel before or after obtaining the appeal record to acquire more information about your appeal. This will assist you in determining whether or not your appeal can be settled without an oral hearing.

It is critical that you give all of your contact information on time and notify the IAD if your contact information changes.
ADR stands for alternative dispute resolution (ADR)

Your appeal may be referred to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) session by the IAD. It is suggested only for appropriate cases. ADR is a casual discussion between you, the Minister’s Counsel, and an IAD officer to discuss the case, clarify issues, and encourage both parties to reach an agreement. There is no need for a hearing if ADR is successful.

The handbook “Attending an ADR Conference at the IAD” is a wonderful resource for more information on what to anticipate and how to prepare for an ADR conference.

The IAD might declare your appeal “abandoned,” which means it’s over, if any of the following conditions are met:
⦁ You or your legal counsel do not respond to a request for information, or you do not answer to a request for information in a timely manner.
⦁ You fail to attend an ADR conference to which you were invited.

Getting ready for your hearing 

You will be invited to an oral hearing if your appeal cannot be decided without a hearing.

Organizing your hearing
If you have any advice, Your attorney will be contacted by the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) to schedule your hearing, and you will receive a Notice to Appear at least four weeks before the hearing date. The Notice to Appear specifies the date and location of your hearing.
If you don’t have any legal advice for your hearing, you will be given a Notice to Appear. The Notice to Appear specifies the date and location of your hearing. You will be provided instructions on how to connect remotely by videoconference or teleconference if you are attending your hearing from outside of Canada.

Getting ready for your hearing

Before your hearing, you must prepare your case. Documents, witness information, and interpretation requests must arrive at least 20 days prior to your hearing. The guide Attending an IAD Hearing describes what you should do before your hearing and what happens during it.
The handbook Preparing your case for the IAD discusses what kind of evidence you’ll need to back up your appeal.
If you fail to appear for your hearing, the IAD may deem your appeal “abandoned,” which means it is over.

If you did not obtain a ruling at your hearing, you should expect a decision with written reasons within 60 days.
If your appeal is successful, You’ll preserve your status as a permanent resident. If you haven’t already done so, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will give you a permanent resident travel document so you can return to Canada.
If your appeal is rejected, Your status as a permanent resident will be revoked. A removal order will be issued if you are in Canada at the time of the ruling. You might want to seek legal counsel.

Taking the case to the Federal Court of Appeal

You or Minister’s Counsel may petition to the Federal Court of Canada for leave, or permission, to have any Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) decision judicially reviewed. The Federal Court of Canada will either dismiss the application or remand it to the IAD for further proceedings.