Assessing someone who may be a candidate for a Humanitarian and Compassionate
The general profile of a good candidate for an H and C application would be someone who has resided in Canada for a few years, say, five years or longer who has some of the factors listed above. Often such applicants do not qualify for other Canadian permanent residence categories such as the Skilled Worker category where applicants are assessed on their English skills or education or work experience.
A typical applicant may be a laborer with little education but has managed to support him or herself in Canada.
If the Humanitarian and Compassionate Application is approved, the applicant will be asked to undergo Immigration medical exams and obtain police clearances. Once the medicals and police clearances are passed, the applicant will be called in to pick up their Canadian Permanent Residence Card (PR Card).
If the H and C application is refused, then the applicant can appeal the negative decision by Canada Immigration to the Federal Court of Canada within 15 days of the refusal.
Hardship in home country
A major component of H and C cases is an assessment of the undue hardship that the applicant may suffer should they be required to return to their home country by Canada Immigration. It is important to explore an applicant’s background in terms of the social, economic or personal hardship they or their family would be subject to in their home country. Note that the applicant for Humanitarian and Compassionate cases do not have to be subject to persecution. H and C cases are not Refugee cases. However, without showing hardship, it may be difficult to succeed in your application for Canadian Permanent Residence under the Humanitarian and Compassionate Category.
Procedure for H and C Cases
The completion of application forms, and supporting documentation showing the factors above are necessary for a good H and C application. Once the application package is complete and the government processing fee of $550.00CAD is collected, the application can be submitted to CPC Vegreville for processing. The application package should have a very detailed submission letter outlining all the H and C factors of the applicant and explain why the immigration officer assessing the case should approve the application. Note that H and C cases are discretionary, that is, the immigration officer assessing the case has the discretion to refuse or approve the case based on their own assessment of the merits of the case. Therefore it is extremely important to prepare a very strong submission letter and collect persuasive supporting documentation in support of the Humanitarian and Compassionate Application.
Applications can take around 18-24 months to process but sometimes longer depending on the case.
During the application process, the applicant remains in Canada to await a decision. It is not recommended that the applicant travel outside of Canada during the H and C process. Their file will be transferred from CPC Vegreville to their local CIC office for further processing. An interview may be required as well as a request for additional documentation. Interviews will be conducted at their local CIC office.
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