Canada offers permanent residency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds to foreign nationals who will face extreme difficulties and hardship associated with emotional and physical distress if they return to their country of origin.

To be eligible under the Humanitarian and Compassionate Category (H&C), you need to provide information and documentation to support your application. H&C is granted to applicants with exceptional circumstances.

Who is Eligible to Apply for Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds?

Applications under the H&C category are assessed based on an individual’s family ties to Canada, the welfare of the dependents, life threatening circumstances, and adaptability in Canada.

You may apply for the H&C category if:

• You are applying for permanent resident status or a permanent resident visa abroad. H&C grounds do not apply for a temporary resident visa (TRV).
• You have minor children who will be affected if you return to your country of origin.
• You or your dependent suffers from a life-threatening disease that is not treatable in your country of origin.

However, there is no assurance that your application will be cleared. You have a right to apply to the Federal Court of Canada if your application is rejected.

Who is Not Eligible for Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds?

You may not be eligible to apply for H&C grounds if:

• born in Canada
• born abroad to Canadian citizens
• permanent residents who have been granted citizenship.

Canadian Citizenship Processing Time

The processing time for a Grant of Citizenship is 12 months.

Canadian Citizenship Card Refusal

These are some of the top reasons why a Permanent Resident Card renewal or replacement may be refused:

• You have applied for permanent residency outside of Canada
• You are applying for a temporary resident visa (TRV)
• You have applied for H&C more than once
• You have applied for H&C based on risk factors such as a risk to life, persecution, or cruel and unjust punishment
• You have a pending refugee claim
• You have a prior denial from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) in the last 12 months. This is known as the “one year bar”

You may be exempt from the one-year bar if you have dependents who suffer from a life-threatening disease that can not be treated in your home country. You can also be exempt if you have children under 18 who will be affected if you were to return to your country.

What is the Possible Outcome for Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds?

There are 2 possible outcomes for an application for H&C grounds:

• Your application is approved. You will be required to clear medical and police examinations to obtain your Permanent Residence Card (PR Card)
• Your application is dismissed. You will have 15 days to appeal this decision to the Federal Court of Canada. You may provide more information to prove that some mistake or an error of law was made

Is there any difference between applying for H&C outside Canada and from inside Canada?

You are not allowed to remain in Canada after making an application under H&C grounds until the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decides.

What are humanitarian protection immigration rules?

If you establish that you face real danger or risk to life by returning to your home country, then you may be granted humanitarian protection. Humanitarian protection is almost identical to refugee status.

What are humanitarian and compassionate reasons?

Humanitarian and compassionate reasons are reasons assessed on grounds of compassion and human welfare.

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