Having your Spousal Sponsorship application refused can be very disheartening. Fortunately, that doesn’t have to be the end of the road. You can still file a sponsorship refusal appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). The IAD is responsible for hearing immigration-related appeals, including matters related to sponsorship, removal orders, and residency. However, preparing an appeal for the IAD can be overwhelming with the many deadlines, document requirements, procedural rules, etc.
Who Can Make a Sponsorship Appeal?
To make a sponsorship appeal to the IAD, you must either be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who submitted an application to sponsor a family member for permanent residence in Canada and was refused by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Who Can Not Make a Sponsorship Appeal?
You can not make a sponsorship appeal if the family member you were trying to sponsor was found inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of Serious Criminality. Inadmissibility due to Serious Criminality involves:
- Being convicted and imprisoned for 6 months or more in Canada
- Being convicted of an offense outside Canada that would be punishable by a sentence of at least 10 years in Canada
- Being involved in organized crime
- Security grounds
- Violation of human and international rights
- Misrepresentation
How to File a Sponsorship Appeal?
You will be required to submit the following to the IAD within 30 days of receiving a refusal letter to make a sponsorship appeal:
- A completed Notice of Appeal form
- The refusal letter sent by the IRCC for the person you sponsored
What Do You Need to Know About Making a Sponsorship Appeal?
Deadlines:
As mentioned above, you only have 30 days after receiving a refusal letter from the IRCC to submit an appeal to the IAD. The Minister will have 120 days after receiving the notice to issue you and the IAD with a Minister’s Record, also known as the “blue book.” You will have 20 days to submit all the required documents and evidence to support your appeal 20 days before the hearing date. This is known as the Appellant's Record.
