Removal orders

What is a removal order and how is it issued?

After confirming the facts, the officer will write up a report saying why you are inadmissible and then will send that report to a higher level CBSA officer called a Minister’s Delegate for review. There is generally very little that can be done to stop them from writing up a report, because if the facts are correct (e.g. you overstayed, you have convictions), a report will be written and forwarded to the Minister’s Delegate. The Minister’s Delegate decides whether a removal order will be issued. This can happen the same day or you may be told to come back for another appointment. Generally, the Minister’s Delegate issues a removal order for people without status in Canada (they must refer it to the Immigration Division for a hearing only if there are very serious grounds of inadmissibility such as war crimes). 

There are three types of removal orders that could be issued:

• Departure order means that you will be given 30 days to leave Canada voluntarily (no permission to return needed, but the order will be part of your immigration record and will be considered when deciding future applications). If you do not leave in 30 days, the departure order becomes a deportation order. 
• Exclusion order means that you must leave, and you would need permission to return for the period of exclusion (usually one year but could be 5 years if the basis is misrepresentation). If CBSA pays for your removal flight, you would have to pay back the deportation fee to return to Canada in the future. Even though you won’t need permission after the exclusion period passes, the exclusion order becomes part of your file, so Immigration will see this and consider the past situation when assessing your future applications. 
• Deportation order means that you will always need permission to return to Canada. This means applying for an Authorization to Return to Canada and paying the fee, plus paying the deportation fee for CBSA removing you from Canada.

What happens after a removal order is issued?

People without immigration status in Canada do not have a right to appeal their removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), but they can apply to the Federal Court for judicial review within 15 days of getting the order if there is an error. This does not stop CBSA from trying to deport you. 

Depending on your circumstances, CBSA may not be able to move forward with deportation until you are given a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) application. Other factors that may prevent CBSA moving forward include lack of travel documents for yourself or your minor children, appeals that have an automatic stay of removal or other court proceedings that need to finish first (such as family or criminal court). 

There are also countries to which CBSA cannot remove people to because they are on a Temporary Suspension of Removal (TSR) or Administrative Deferral of Removal (ADR) list (countries can be added and dropped anytime, and CBSA might still try to deport to another country or region that you would have the ability to enter and remain). Even if you are from a country that is on these lists, the deferral will not apply if you are inadmissible for criminality, serious criminality, security or international human rights violations. Right now, a TSR is in place for Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Iraq, and an ADR is in place Somalia (Middle Shabelle, Afgoye, and Mogadishu), the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Burundi, Venezuela, Haiti, Iran, Sudan and Lebanon. 

CBSA may pressure you to apply to renew your travel document from your home country or sign a travel document application form allowing CBSA to renew it for you. It is important not to sign anything without talking to a lawyer and understanding how this may impact your immigration status and applications. For example, if you are alleging that you are at risk in your home country, applying to renew your passport can put you at risk and undermine that application. If CBSA gives you anything to sign, tell them you want time to review the document with a lawyer (and interpreter if needed). 

You cannot make a refugee claim once a removal order is issued. You can still make an H&C and spousal sponsorship application (although may not stop removal) and a TRP application, and if the removal order is unenforceable (such as a statutory or administrative deferral is in place), you may be able to apply for an open work permit. 

How can I make a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) application? 

A Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) application can only be made once a removal order has been issued. If you made a refugee claim, and it was refused, you may not be eligible for a PRRA if it has been less than 1 year since the refusal (there are exceptions to this rule). CBSA may try to deport you during this waiting period because the conditional removal order that was issued when a refugee claim was made becomes enforceable once the claim is refused (unless you submitted an appeal on time, in which case the conditional removal order continues until the appeal is decided). Get legal advice if you have risks that were not assessed in your refugee claim and CBSA is saying you do not get a PRRA. PRRAs are very rarely successful, but it is important to do them anyway because they come with an automatic stay of removal until a decision is made. 

The first PRRA must be served to you by CBSA. They will give you a cover sheet that has two dates on it: first, the date to submit the forms (within 15 days) and second, the date to submit any additional documents to support your application (another 15 days). It is very important to submit the forms by the 15 days deadline because, if you do so, an automatic stay of removal will be in place until a decision is made. In that case, a decision cannot be made until at least the 30 days have passed and you can use this time to plan. 

Beware that the last page of the PRRA form has an option to decline the PRRA. A CBSA officer might ask you to sign this part of the form (especially if you are in detention). It is very important not to sign anything without getting legal advice because you may be signing away your right to make a PRRA. If you think you may have declined your chance to make a PRRA, get legal advice right away. 

You can make a second PRRA, but this does not come with an automatic stay of removal. To make a second PRRA you would have to submit the forms and evidence together at the same time (CBSA does not serve you a second PRRA). This could be an option if your first PRRA was done poorly or without legal assistance, if CBSA is trying to deport you to a country that wasn’t assessed in your first PRRA, or if new risks have come up that should be assessed before you are deported.

What happens if my PRRA is refused? 

When a decision is made on your PRRA, you will get a call-in notice from CBSA asking you to come in for an interview (they will give you the decision at the interview in-person, they don’t mail the decision). There is a risk of detention at this appointment if your PRRA is refused. CBSA will also move ahead with plans for your deportation. When they can deport you will depend on factors such as country conditions in home country, whether you have a valid travel document, if there are other court processes that need to be concluded, etc. But, generally, if your PRRA is refused, CBSA will move forward with removal as soon as possible. 

If your PRRA is refused, get legal advice right away. You would have 15 days to file an application with the Federal Court for judicial review of the negative decision. On its own, a judicial review of a PRRA decision does not stop removal from Canada; but it might be important to make a judicial review application so you can exercise your other legal options. You may be able to get legal aid to help you with a judicial review application.

How can I stop my removal from Canada if I have been given a deportation date? 

A Direction to Report (DTR) for removal is a piece of paper from CBSA that will have your flight date, time and other details on it. It will say that failure to attend will result in a Canada wide warrant being issued. There are limited legal options at this stage, and timelines are very quick, so it would be important to pre-plan or connect with legal help right away. 

You can submit a deferral of removal request to CBSA. This is a paper submission that gets sent to CBSA directly and a removals officer decides whether your deportation date should be temporarily delayed. They usually say no. Even if they say yes, they can reschedule the deportation to a later date.  The factors they might consider for a short-term deferral of removal include: medical and/or mental health issues (such as risk of travel, impact of removal on mental health, lack of treatment in home country); the effect of separation on children and family in Canada; impact on any applications currently in-process; disruption of studies (including children’s school year); and personal harm/risk to life that haven’t already been considered. 

If your deferral request is denied, or if no decision is made and your deportation date is coming up soon, or you already have an application into Federal Court to judicially review a negative decision on an application you submitted to immigration (like a PRRA or H&C), you can make a stay motion at the Federal Court. This is asking a judge to stop your deportation. It is a complicated motion to make, and it is very important to get legal advice right away because the timeline for making these applications can be very short. 

You may be able to get legal aid to help you with a deferral request and/or stay motion. Your neighbourhood legal clinic might also help you apply for legal aid and find a lawyer who can help you with these applications.