INFORMATION GUIDE
SPONSORSHIP APPEALS
NOT A GENUINE IMMIGRANT
The questions and answers below are to help you prepare for your appeal hearing. The following information is limited and general only. It is not complete legal advice. Please note that the new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has been passed and is expected to be in force later in 2002, so the information in this guide may not apply to later cases.
1. INTRODUCTION
Where will my appeal hearing take place?
Your appeal hearing will take place at the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Immigration and Refugee Board is an independent tribunal. It is not part of Citizenship and Immigration Canada ( CIC).
Who will decide my appeal?
A Member of the Immigration Appeal Division ( IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board will decide your appeal.
Who will be at my appeal hearing?
In addition to you and the IAD Member who will decide your appeal, your counsel, if you chose to be represented, will be present. There will also be counsel for the Minister of Immigration ( CIC) who may provide evidence, question you and other witnesses, and make arguments against your appeal. Any witnesses that you or the Minister's counsel bring to testify (give oral evidence) will also be at the hearing. An interpreter will be there for you or any of your witnesses if you have asked for one. Members of the public are also allowed to attend.
Do I need someone to represent me in my appeal?
You do not have to have someone represent you, but you may if you think that this will help your appeal. There are often questions of law that need to be argued in the appeal and you have to make sure that your case is supported by enough evidence. You should also know that Minister's counsel will be at your hearing to question you and other witnesses, and make arguments against your appeal. If you have someone represent you, this can be a lawyer (a person with legal training and a licence to practise law) or a consultant, friend, or relative. That person must be available and prepared on the date of the appeal hearing.
How will I know when my appeal hearing will take place?
You will receive a letter from the IAD to appear at an assignment court on a specific date and time. You should be there on the date and at the time stated in the letter. At the assignment court, an IAD Member will ask you and the Minister's counsel questions to make sure that your case is ready to be scheduled. If the Member is satisfied that your appeal is ready to be scheduled, you will be told the day your appeal hearing will take place and you will be given a written notice of that date.
What will happen if my counsel and I cannot appear on the appeal hearing date?
When an appeal hearing date is set, you should be ready for the hearing on that date. If you believe that you will not be ready, you may ask for a postponement (that the hearing be delayed to a later date) by sending a letter explaining your situation to the registry office of the Immigration Appeal Division, and a copy to the Minister's counsel, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Hearings and Appeals. The addresses of the IAD regional office and the CIC regional office are in the material that the IAD sends to you after you have filed your appeal. In your letter you must explain why you want your appeal hearing to be postponed. Your hearing will only be postponed for a very good reason. If the IAD does not reply, or if the IAD refuses your request, you must appear on the hearing date prepared for your appeal hearing. If you do not appear, your appeal may be dismissed.
You may ask for a postponement at your hearing, but it will not be allowed unless you can show there is a very good reason for your hearing not going ahead that day.
2. PREPARING FOR YOUR APPEAL
What must I show to win my appeal?
To win your appeal you must show that the refusal to approve your relative's application is not legal. That means that it is your responsibility to show that the visa officer made the wrong decision.
The visa officer refused to issue a visa to your relative because the officer did not believe that your relative was an "immigrant." Under the Immigration Act, an "immigrant" must intend to reside permanently in Canada. To win your appeal you must show that your relative plans to live in Canada permanently.
To decide this, the Member may consider evidence about:
- Your relationship with your relative;
- Why your relative wants to come to Canada;
- Whether your relative has dependants included in the immigration application and, if so, have any of those dependants applied to immigrate to Canada before;
- What your relative told the visa officer at the interview;
- Whether your relative had permanent residence status in Canada before and lost it,
- Whether your relative intends to keep a family residence, or a job, or property or other assets overseas;
- What steps your relative has taken to prepare to move to Canada; and
- Any other information that may help the IAD Member decide your appeal.
You should come prepared to deal with all of the reasons the visa officer gave for refusing your relative's application.
It is important to know that for sponsorship appeals of "not a genuine immigrant," the IAD Member can only decide if the refusal is legal. The Member is not allowed to consider whether there are humanitarian or compassionate reasons for allowing your appeal.
Do I have to provide any documents for my hearing?
Documentary evidence can be very important in helping you to win your appeal. To show that your relative intends to come to Canada permanently, you may want to provide documents that show what your relative did in moving permanently to Canada. You may also want to provide documents that show your relationship with your relative and documents that show your relative's intentions such as letters, and sworn statements from your relative and those who know your relative overseas.
If you would like to provide documents, you must make two copies of each document (including any photographs or videocassettes). You must send one copy to the registry office of the Immigration Appeal Division, and send one copy to the Minister's counsel, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Hearings and Appeals. The addresses of the IAD regional office and the CIC regional office are in the material that the IAD sends to you after you have filed your appeal. The documents must be received at least 20 days before the hearing. If you do not do this (called "disclosure"), the IAD Member may decide not to permit your documents to be used in your appeal hearing.
If your documents are not in English or French, they must be translated, and the translations must be sent along with the copies of the documents to the IAD and to the Minister's counsel. The person who translated the documents should be a certified translator and attach a statement certifying that the translation is accurate.
Even if you have provided copies of your documents before the hearing, you should bring the original documents to the hearing if you have them.
Do I have to bring witnesses?
You do not have to bring witnesses, but you may if you think this will help show that the refusal is not legal or that there are compassionate or humanitarian reasons for allowing the appeal for your relative to come to Canada. If you would like to bring witnesses, they must be prepared to answer questions at your hearing. You must tell the IAD and the Minister's counsel at least 20 days before the hearing who you will be bringing as a witness and why that witness will be testifying at your appeal hearing (by completing the form that will be given to you for this purpose).
May my relative testify?
Even though your relative may be in another country, your relative may testify at your appeal hearing by telephone if you wish. If you want to do this, you must tell the IAD before the appeal hearing, and you must make sure that your relative can be reached by telephone at the time of your hearing. Since you must pay for the call, you have to bring with you long distance phone cards with aminimum of two hours' international calling time available. If your relative will need an interpreter, you must tell the IAD and the Minister's counsel know at least 15 days before the hearing.
3. YOUR APPEAL HEARING
What will happen at my appeal hearing?
- You will testify.
If you have counsel, your counsel will begin by asking you questions so that you can give evidence to show that the refusal is not legal or that there are compassionate or humanitarian reasons for allowing the appeal for your relative to come to Canada. If you do not have counsel, you may tell the IAD Member what you think is important or you may ask the Member to ask you questions that the Member thinks are needed to decide your appeal. The Minister's counsel will also question you on the evidence you have given at the hearing because the Minister's counsel is there to argue against the appeal.
- Witnesses will testify.
After your testimony, your witness or witnesses will testify. This may include your relative testifying by telephone from another country. Any witness you bring to the hearing will usually be asked to stay in the waiting room and not join the hearing until after you have testified. The witness then will be called to answer questions. Your counsel may question the witness or, if you do not have counsel, you may question the witness or ask the IAD Member to do it. The Minister's counsel will also be able to question the witness. The Minister's counsel can also bring witnesses to testify. You have the right to question any witnesses brought by the Minister's counsel.
- Arguments will be made.
After you and the witnesses have testified, the IAD Member will ask you to explain why you think the evidence shows that the refusal is not legal. The Minister's counsel will also be asked whether he or she thinks you have proven your case. You will then be asked to respond to the submission of the Minister's counsel.
When will I know the decision in my appeal?
The IAD Member may be able to decide your appeal and give reasons for the decision at the end of the hearing. If not, the Member will tell you that the decision and reasons will be sent to you by mail at a later date, usually within 90 days of the hearing.
MORE INFORMATION
If you would like more information, you may visit the IRB's Documentation Centre at our offices. There you will find the following information:
- IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE BOARD OF CANADA: AN OVERVIEW
This document provides basic information on the types of appeals heard at the IAD and the appeal process.
- SPONSORSHIP APPEALS
This paper describes how different types of sponsorship appeals are decided.
- REMOVAL ORDER APPEALS
This paper describes how different types of removal order appeals are decided.
- PRACTICE NOTICE: Scheduling of Appeal Hearings in the Immigration Appeal Division ( IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board
This notice sets out the policy and procedure of the IAD concerning how appeals are scheduled to be heard.
- PRACTICE NOTICE: Postponements and Adjournments in the Immigration Appeal Division ( IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board
This notices sets out the policy and procedures for postponements and adjournments requests of appeal hearings.
- REFLEX
This is a publication of summaries of selected recent immigration and refugee law decisions since May 1991.
- IMMIGRATION ACT and IMMIGRATION APPEAL DIVISION RULES