The Canadian immigration world is not that welcoming these days and it hasn’t been for the past couple of years as our many blogs have discussed. Express Entry (EE) scores are higher than most applicants can meet, draws for EE applicants focus only on in Canada applicants, the business immigration programs have been either shut down (until the end of 2026 for self-employed (SE) applicants) or significantly reduced for Start Up Visa (SUV) applicants, and the TFW program and international students have had caps introduced. Overall there is a tightening of the belt in terms of immigration processing and prospective applicants are feeling the pinch. When people can’t get what they want, they turn to other options and the most obvious choice is the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H and C) application. Spoiler Alert: Here’s more bad news – the H and C application is not meant to solve everyone’s problems.
The first point that needs to be understood is that S. 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is a discretionary provision. Officers have the “discretion” to assess and determine each application. (Please translate what discretion means in your own language so that you understand it!). Just because you make an H and C application does NOT mean that it will be approved. You should know the likely chances of success and the risks of refusal before you head down this application path. When you see the statistics on H and C applications you will understand that you have a greater chance of refusal than approval! Your application will be assessed on the information that you provide not merely because you filled in the forms and paid the application fee. Many H and C applications fail for a lack of compelling evidence.
The second point is that H and C factors are not defined. They cover a wide range of circumstances such as long term establishment in Canada, family crisis or mental or health conditions, risk of harm in your home country and the best interests of a child (BIOC) directly affected by the outcome of a decision. There is no specific formula of evidence that leads to success but generally speaking a broader range of factors is more beneficial to your application. Also, simply being unable to qualify for a particular category of immigration does not lead to H and C success! You should also note that the decisions from the Court fluctuate over time and the last ten years have been a pretty favourable time for H and C processing. However, there are numerous signals that this is likely to change in the coming years ahead.
Consider the Immigration Levels report dated November 14, 2024 introduced by the then Minister for IRCC, Marc Miller. At the time he stated that the number of H and C applicants admitted in 2022 were 10,199 whereas in 2023 there were 14,355 H and C admissions. That reflects a 41% increase in H and C application approvals in a single year as noted in the report.
However in the “Supplementary Information for the 2025-2027 levels report”, the future reality was more telling. The report set out the targets for all categories of immigration applications and reductions were set across the board. For H and C applications the targets were as follows:
- 2025: 10,000
- 2026: 6,900
- 2027: 4,300
From 2025 to 2027 the reduction in H and C approvals is targeted to be reduced by more than 50%. However if you compare the 2023 H and C acceptance levels in comparison with the projected 2027 levels you can see that the percentage drop in H and C approvals rates is far, far greater! Be forewarned that a H and C application is NOT likely going to be the answer to your immigration challenges.
Finally, there is the Federal Court which sets out the legal direction that immigration officers must take in assessing H and C applications. As mentioned above, the Federal Court’s direction can evolve over time. For the first 25 years of my practicing as an immigration lawyer, the Federal Court’s views were not very kind towards H and C applications. There were a few notable decisions along the way such as Baker in 1999 where Madam Justice L’Heureux Dubé of the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) directed that officers were to be “alive, alert and sensitive to the best interests of a child directly affected” by an H and C decision. Then about ten years later in December of 2015 came the Kanthasamy decision, also from the SCC, which directed officers away from the “disproportionate hardship” test that had been applied for decades and concluded that “as children should never be deserving of hardship” that officers should assess cases differently. This led to the most favourable processing period for H and C applications of my entire legal career.
However, as the current realities demonstrate, I predict that the pendulum will likely swing the other way and pretty soon. The IRCC Ministers in recent past and present, have indicated an intention to reduce the number of people presently in Canada as well as the number of people that Canada will accept in the future. Immigration officers assessing applications will take that as guidance in how to assess (and refuse) cases. Refusal rates across the board for current and pending applicants are increasing and will likely to continue to increase. And don’t forget the dramatically reduced levels for immigration will undoubtedly result in both longer processing times and higher refusal rates.
As immigration lawyers, Victor and I routinely advise our clients on a “what you need to know and not what you want to hear” basis. It is possible to make a Federal Court judicial review application, apply for an extension of a work permit when you have not basis to do so simply to remain in the country for a few extra months, and apply for an H and C application for permanent residence when realistically you have no likely chance of success. Just because you CAN make an application doesn’t mean that you SHOULD make an application. The message is clear from the recent and current Ministers of IRCC – we are clearing house and it is not a welcoming time to Canada. Prepare yourself mentally, emotionally and fiscally for the reality of returning to your home country. An H and C application is not necessarily the answer to your immigration goals.
Supplementary Information for the 2025-2027 levels report: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/news/notices/supplementary-immigration-levels-2025-2027.html
For our other blogs on H and C applications, please refer to the following links:
- Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications: Tips for Success
- Winning immigration on humanitarian and compassionate grounds
