A misrepresentation finding can bar you from Canada for five years. We review what the officer thinks is wrong, answer the letter, and represent you at the hearing or on appeal.
We'll call you during office hours, 9 am to 5 pm, 7 days a week. If your response is due in the next few days, call now.
Book a free video meeting now Call (289) 309-3069Section 40 of the Act
You're inadmissible if you directly or indirectly misrepresent or withhold material facts that could lead to an error in how the law is applied. A fact is material if it could affect the decision. It doesn't have to be deliberate.
Ask about your fileProcedural fairness letters
Before refusing you for misrepresentation, an officer is expected to tell you the concern and let you respond. The letter sets a deadline. What you send is often the only thing standing between you and a 5-year bar.
Ask about your letterYour first meeting
If your deadline is close, book first and send the rest after.
Deadline check
Once there is a misrepresentation finding or a removal order, the time to challenge it is short. Pick what you received and the date.
days to appeal a removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division
days for Federal Court judicial review of a decision made in Canada
Pick a date to see your deadlines.
General information, not legal advice. Which route applies depends on your status and the ground of the finding. Court rules on counting days and holidays can move the exact date. A procedural fairness letter sets its own deadline, so follow the date in the letter. We'll confirm your deadline.
Hearings and appeals
If you're in Canada, an inadmissibility report can be sent to the Immigration Division for a hearing. What comes next depends on your status and the ground.
A hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board. Minister's counsel from the border agency must prove the allegation, and you can bring evidence and witnesses. You must be in Canada for it to go ahead.
Permanent residents can appeal a removal order within 30 days. The Division can look at errors of law or fact, fairness, and humanitarian factors, including the best interests of a child.
Where there's no appeal, the Federal Court can review whether the officer's decision was reasonable and fair. The deadline is 15 days for decisions made in Canada and 60 days for those made abroad.
The bar runs 5 years from the final decision if it was made outside Canada, or from the date you were removed if it was made in Canada. A Temporary Resident Permit may be possible in the meantime.
“His guidance was clear, honest, and very reassuring during a stressful time.”
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Five years. If the finding was made outside Canada, the 5 years run from the final decision. If it was made in Canada, they run from the date the removal order is enforced, meaning the day you leave.
Don't ignore it and don't guess. Read exactly what the officer is concerned about, gather documents that answer it, and send a clear written response before the deadline in the letter. If you need more time, ask for it in writing before the deadline passes.
Yes. You're responsible for everything in your application, even when someone else prepared it. The courts accept a narrow exception where you honestly and reasonably believed the information was true and the error was beyond your control.
It depends on your status. A permanent resident can usually appeal a removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division within 30 days. A sponsorship refused for misrepresentation can be appealed only if the person sponsored is a spouse, common-law partner or child. Otherwise, the route is judicial review at the Federal Court, within 15 days for decisions made in Canada or 60 days for decisions made abroad.
A member of the Immigration and Refugee Board hears both sides. Minister's counsel must prove you're inadmissible, and you can present evidence and witnesses. The member then either makes a removal order or allows you to enter or stay in Canada.
Video meetings are free. In-person meetings at First Canadian Place are $100.
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