Humanitarian & Compassionate Considerations
Overcome your immigration barrier and fulfill your dream of living in Canada
Humanitarian and compassionate grounds (H&C) allow a person living in Canada to apply for permanent residency despite not meeting a requirement in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).
H&C applications can waive many legal requirements, including residency obligation, criminal inadmissibility, and even misrepresentation.
This is an exceptional measure. Reasons such as financial inconvenient are usually not sufficient.
Who Can Make an H & C Application?
H&C applications are a last resort and cannot be used if other reasonable options are available to you.
You must be able to explain why the particular requirement you are requesting to be waived is impossible or unreasonable to satisfy. To demonstrate this, you should demonstrate your efforts made to comply with the requirement.
The onus will always be on the applicant to provide relevant evidence supporting their case.
Ties to Canada
Officers will always examine your ties to Canada.
Given that H&C applications centre on your need to remain in Canada,the more evidence of ties you can provide, the stronger your application will be.
Ties to Canada will depend on the person and their situation, but can range from:
- Family ties
- Investments – property, cars
- Employement – previous employment in Canada
- Education – previous education in Canada
Country of Origin Factors
Examples of evidence include:
Length of time since you have been in your home country compared
with Canada.
How well, if at all, you speak the language in your home country
Whether you have any family, work, or school opportunities in your
home country.
It is very important to give a clear, detailed immigration history for you and any family members, especially at important milestones in your life,
in order to show how your choice of where to live was limited.
Best Interest of Child
If you have any children under 18years of age, you should provide evidence that remaining in Canada would be in their best interest.
Canadian law specifically recognizes the “best interests of a child directly affected by a decision” as a factor that must be taken into account.
Just as with an adult applications, the children’s ties to Canada and their home country (if any) should be compared, together with children, specific factors such as education, age, degree of dependence or independence from parents, grandparents, and other family.
Taking a child from their adopted country of Canada may be severely disruptive, and although a child’s best interests will be considered an important factor.
Similarly, separation of a family, such as two parents, can be equally disruptive and cause hardship to children (depending on the age, degree of attachment to the parent in question).
Have a Question?
How We Can Help
We can guide you through each step of the process, ensuring you compile a strong and convincing case to give you the best chances of success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply for permanent residency under humanitarian and compassionate grounds?
If you are planning to apply for permanent residency under humanitarian and compassionate grounds, it is important to understand who qualifies under this category. Humanitarian and compassionate application usually filed within Canada. This application is mostly for individual who do not have a legal status in Canada but have managed to make Canada their home.
Individual who have managed to establish themselves in Canada include:
- Family ties to Canadian permanent resident or Canadian Citizen
- Working in Canada without a work permit
- Studying in Canada without a study permit
- You are doing extensive volunteer work inside of Canada
- Language ability and proficiency in English or French
- Obtaining property and income establishments inside Canada
- Have social ties and responsibilities of a community within Canada
- Best interest of the child
- A major component in qualifying for humanitarian and compassionate grounds is experiencing hardship and extreme suffering in your home country.
What are the requirements to immigrate to Canada?
Some of the most asked about applications include the express entry, family class sponsorship, live-in caregiver, provincial nominee programs, investor category immigration.
Can I apply for refugee and PR with H&C at the same time?
How long does it take to get a decision?
While your application is in processing you are permitted to stay in Canada until you receive a decision. It is not recommended to leave Canada while you are waiting for a decision as this could negatively affect your application.