The Immigration Appeal Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board hears appeals about sponsorship refusals, removal orders and residency obligation decisions. It is a tribunal, not a court, and it can look at a case afresh rather than only reviewing the file.

Not every immigration refusal can be appealed there, and some cannot be appealed at all. The first question in any of these matters is which route, if any, is actually open.

Which route applies to your decision

An appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division is available for the three categories of decision described below, and for Minister’s appeals of Immigration Division decisions. It is the subject of this page.
An appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division is a different tribunal, for rejected refugee claims only. It is covered on the refugee claims page, and it has its own deadlines and its own list of claimants who cannot use it.
Most IRCC refusals carry no appeal at all. A refused visitor visa, study permit, work permit or economic immigration application is not appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division. What is usually available is a fresh application that deals with the reasons for refusal, or an application for leave and judicial review at the Federal Court. Those routes, and procedural fairness letters, are covered on the refused applications page.
Judicial review at the Federal Court asks whether the decision was lawfully made; it is not a rehearing. It is a court proceeding, conducted by a lawyer or by the applicant personally where the law permits, and the time limits are short. This practice does not act in the Federal Court.

Sponsorship appeals

Where a family class sponsorship application is refused, the sponsor may be able to appeal. An appeal must be made within 30 days after the refusal, according to the Board. The appeal is heard by the Immigration Appeal Division, which can consider evidence that was not before the visa officer, including testimony from the sponsor and the applicant.

Some sponsors have no right of appeal. The Board states that a sponsor cannot appeal where the person sponsored has been found inadmissible for serious criminality punished by a sentence of six months or more, for organized criminality, on security grounds, or for violating human or international rights, or for misrepresentation, except where the person is the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or child.

Sponsorship appeals often turn on the same question the officer decided, most commonly whether a relationship is genuine. The difference is that the Division hears the couple give evidence and be questioned. See the family sponsorship and spousal sponsorship pages for what the underlying application requires.

Removal order appeals

A removal order issued by the Canada Border Services Agency or by the Immigration Division may be appealed by a permanent resident, a Convention refugee or other protected person, or a foreign national holding a permanent resident visa. The Board states that the Notice of Appeal must be filed within 30 days of receiving the removal order.

Again there are bars. There is no appeal, the Board states, where the person has been found inadmissible for serious criminality, organized criminality, on security grounds, or for violating human or international rights, and that rejected refugee claimants and foreign nationals without a permanent resident visa cannot appeal a removal order to this Division.

Residency obligation appeals

A permanent resident who is found not to have met the residency obligation may appeal that determination. The statutory right of appeal is against a decision made outside Canada, and the Board states that the appeal must be made no later than 60 days after the written decision was received. A determination made inside Canada follows a different route, and what is available should be checked against the decision itself. These appeals frequently succeed or fail on humanitarian and compassionate considerations rather than on the arithmetic of days present in Canada.

What the Division can decide

The Board states that an appeal is allowed if the decision under appeal was wrong in law or in fact, if there was a breach of a principle of natural justice, or, in some cases, on the basis of humanitarian and compassionate considerations. That last ground is what makes these appeals different from judicial review: the Division can take account of the circumstances of the family, including the best interests of a child directly affected, even where the original decision was technically correct.

Sources: Immigration and Refugee Board, Immigration Appeals information sheet and the Immigration Appeal Division pages, checked 20 September 2026.

Alternative dispute resolution

Some sponsorship appeals are sent to an alternative dispute resolution session before any full hearing. A dispute resolution officer, usually a member of the Division, meets the parties with counsel for the Minister to see whether the appeal can be resolved without a hearing. Many appeals end there. A session is still a proceeding, and it should be prepared for as one.

Preparing an appeal

The Division receives the record of the original decision, including the officer’s notes. The work of the appeal is identifying what actually drove the refusal, assembling the evidence that answers it, disclosing that evidence on time, and preparing the appellant and any witnesses to give evidence and be cross-examined by counsel for the Minister.

Deadlines are strict throughout, and the Board can dismiss an appeal or declare it abandoned where a party does not respond to its communications. Keep your address and email current with the Division for the whole life of the appeal.

Representation

Syed Javed Hussain is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, RCIC #R706130, and a Licensed Paralegal of the Law Society of Ontario, #P12776. Both licences permit paid representation before the Immigration and Refugee Board, which includes the Immigration Appeal Division. Where a matter belongs in the Federal Court, you will be told and referred on.

Common questions

Can I appeal any immigration refusal?

No. The Immigration Appeal Division hears the categories set out above. A refused temporary resident visa, study permit or work permit does not go there. Read your refusal letter, because it usually states whether a right of appeal exists and what the deadline is.

What is the difference between the IAD and the RAD?

They are separate divisions of the same Board. The Refugee Appeal Division hears appeals from rejected refugee claims and usually decides them on the documents. The Immigration Appeal Division hears sponsorship, removal order and residency obligation appeals, and normally holds a hearing at which witnesses give evidence.

How long do I have to appeal?

Thirty days for a sponsorship refusal and for a removal order, and sixty days for a residency obligation decision made outside Canada. The periods run from when you received the decision, so the date on the envelope and on the covering letter both matter. Do not wait until you have decided whether to proceed.

Does everyone have to give evidence?

In most sponsorship appeals the sponsor gives evidence, and the applicant abroad usually gives evidence by telephone or video. Who else is called depends on what is in dispute.

Discuss your matter

Bring the decision letter and the envelope it came in, the original application, and anything the Board has sent you. If the deadline is close, say so at the first contact.

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Last reviewed: 20 September 2026 against Immigration and Refugee Board material. Deadlines and jurisdiction change, and whether a right of appeal exists depends on the individual decision. This page is general information, not legal advice.