Who Can Apply for Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) Consideration
Find out if you are eligible to apply for H&C Consideration
There are many circumstances that can merit humanitarian and compassionate consideration when applying for permanent residency in Canada. It is important to note that these types of applications are only approved in exceptional situations. Additionally, these applications can and may take years to process. When applying for permanent residency with humanitarian and compassionate arguments, it is your sole responsibility to provide Immigration with all and any factors that you feel would benefit your application and prove to Immigration that you should remain in Canada. Therefore, in this article, I will address who can apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration.
What is Humanitarian and Compassionate Consideration?
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) consideration provides the flexibility to allow permanent residence status to specific foreign nationals who would otherwise not qualify under any other class, in cases in which there are compelling humanitarian and compassionate grounds. This is determined under A25 and A25.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Applicants that would like to apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration can make a submission on any factors that affect their personal circumstances that they believe are relevant to the request for humanitarian and compassionate consideration.
Additionally, the humanitarian and compassionate consideration application is intended for individuals in Canada who have or currently are suffering from excessive hardship, if they would return back to their home country. It is important to note that any costs and inconvenience are not considered excessive hardship.
When IRCC is assessing applications for humanitarian and compassionate consideration, they will most likely not request for any additional information. Therefore, it is extremely important for the applicant to provide as much information and documentation with regards to their circumstances and why they should be considered on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. In other words, you should identify the circumstances that you would like an Immigration officer to consider and thus provide sufficient evidence and documentation to support those circumstances and statements. The responsibility is solely on the applicant to provide Immigration with any and all evidence to support their application.
It is also worth mentioning that humanitarian and compassionate consideration also considers the best interests of a child that will be directly affected by the decision made on the application. Hence, if you would like for an Immigration officer to assess and consider the best interests of the child, you should provide as much information and documentation on how the child will be ultimately affected. Please note that the interests of the child will not necessarily outweigh other factors in a humanitarian and compassionate consideration case. The best interests of the child is only one of many important and significant factors that can be potentially considered when making an ultimate decision on a humanitarian and compassionate consideration case.
Who Can Apply for Humanitarian and Compassionate Consideration?
Much like any other immigration application, there are specific requirements and conditions that need to be met in order to apply for humanitarian and compassionate consideration. Therefore, you can apply for permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, if you:
- Currently reside in Canada
- Are not eligible to apply for PR from within Canada in any of the following classes: – Spouse or Common-Law Partner Sponsorship – Live-in Caregiver Program – Protected Person, or – Temporary Resident Permit Holder
- Believe you would endure unusual and undeserved hardship if you were required to leave and exit Canada
Please note that if your spouse or common-law partner is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada and they are eligible to sponsor you, then you should apply for either the Spousal sponsorship or the Common-Law sponsorship instead. However, if you have determined that your spouse or common-law partner is not eligible to sponsor you, then you may proceed with applying for permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Additionally, if you or any family member is inadmissible to Canada, you must first overcome the inadmissibility prior to applying for permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. It is important to recognize that inadmissibility can be issued for reasons such as criminality, health reasons, financial reasons, misrepresentation, having an inadmissible family member and much more. Therefore, once you have successfully overcome the inadmissibility issues, then you may proceed with applying for permanent residency in Canada on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Keep in mind, when Immigration officers assess cases of humanitarian and compassionate considerations, they are authorized to use their discretion and flexibility to treat these cases in accordance with Canadian values. Ultimately, the eligibility and the processing of humanitarian and compassionate consideration cases involve permitting permanent residency status in Canada to qualified applicants and also refusing the permanent residency status in Canada for unqualified applicants. Therefore, it is best to always remember that Immigration officers will utilize the resources available to them to accurately assess whether the applicant should be granted permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
Contact Akrami & Associates
If you are a foreign national and would like to apply for permanent residency in Canada with humanitarian and compassionate consideration, Akrami & Associates can definitely help you with this process. Applying for an H&C application can be confusing if you are unfamiliar with how Immigration applications work. Moreover, any Immigration application can become overwhelming if done alone; therefore, it is highly recommended that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to apply. Additionally, it is extremely important that you take into consideration the aforementioned information prior to submitting your application. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients obtain permanent residency in Canada through humanitarian and compassionate consideration. If you believe that you might be eligible for this application, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advice.
