Humanitarian & Compassionate Considerations immigration program is designed specifically for those who cannot meet criteria of any other immigration program but whose circumstances deserve to be taken into consideration and whose life situation allows an officer to make an exception in immigration rules and grant permanent residence due to these considerations. This blog is related only to those who are already in Canada.

Basics

Purpose: to allow flexibility to approve deserving cases not covered by the legislation.

Only those who cannot apply for any other immigration program can apply for the H&C program! If you meet the criteria for any other program, or if you have grounds to improve these criteria (for example, language level, education, etc.), then it is better not to apply for the H&C program!

Officers must substantively consider and weigh all the relevant facts and factors before them. Factors should not be considered in isolation; there must be a global assessment of all the relevant factors.

Section 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugees Protection Act states, to say it simple, that The Minister must, on request of a foreign national in Canada who applies for permanent resident status examine the circumstances concerning the foreign national and may grant the foreign national permanent resident status or an exemption from any applicable criteria or obligations of this Act if the Minister is of the opinion that it is justified by humanitarian and compassionate considerations relating to the foreign national, taking into account the best interests of a child directly affected.

The officer considers the extent to which the applicant, given his or her particular circumstances, may face hardship if he or she has to leave Canada.

The onus is entirely upon the applicant to be clear in the submission as to exactly what hardship they would face if they were not granted the requested exemption.

If the application is rejected, the applicant may request a reconsideration of the previous decision, but a review should only be carried out in exceptional cases (this has its own factors). The applicant may also resubmit the application.

Factors to consider:

1. the best interests of any children directly affected by the H&C decision;
2. establishment in Canada for in-Canada applications;
3. ties to Canada;
4. factors in their country of origin including adverse country conditions (war, natural disasters, unfair treatment of minorities, political instability, lack of employment, widespread violence etc.);
5. health considerations including inability of a country to provide medical treatment (it is unavailable, or the treatment, hospital conditions, medications are inappropriate or of poor quality, or they are prohibitively expensive);
6. family violence considerations;
7. consequences of the separation of relatives;
8. inability to leave Canada has led to establishment (in the case of applicants in Canada);
9. any unique or exceptional circumstances that might merit relief;
10. discrimination (directed at a person individually).

Below are some factors described.

Best interests of a child

“Children will rarely, if ever, be deserving of any hardship”, and they may experience greater hardship than adults faced with a comparable situation. But it does not mean that the interests of the child outweigh all other factors in a case.

The following is considered:

•  the age of the child,
•  the level of dependency between the child and the H&C applicant,
•  the degree of the child's establishment in Canada,
•  the child’s links to the country in relation to which the H&C assessment is being considered,
•  the conditions of that country and the potential impact on the child,
•  medical issues or special needs the child may have,
•  the impact to the child’s education,
•  matters related to the child's gender.

Establishment in Canada

Establishment in Canada includes your employment and the degree of integration into your community. To show your establishment, you should provide official letters and recommendations from work, recommendations from language courses, letters about volunteering, letters from your church if you attend one, letters of support from various organizations and individuals (friends, neighbors, colleagues, etc. who arre PRs or Canadians). It is extremely important to have as many letters as possible, because the establishment factor is one of the key factors for the officer. Try to collect at least 10 such letters.

The following is considered:

• length of stay in Canada;
• circumstances that forced you to stay in Canada are beyond your control;
• stable work history;
• rational financial management (how you manage your funds);
• living in the same community or constant moving;
• integration into the community: participation in non-profit, volunteer organizations, other activities useful to the community;
• vocational, language training aimed at integration into Canadian society;
• good past and present in Canada (no criminal or administrative charges);
• the applicant falls into the category of people who are citizens of countries to which deportation from Canada is temporarily suspended;
• cooperation with the government, in particular regarding travel documents;
• the applicant has intentionally lost or destroyed his travel documents/passport (negative factor).

Adverse country conditions

When an applicant submits information claiming that there are conditions in the country of origin that would result in hardship if they were not granted the exemption requested, decision makers must consider the conditions in that country and balance these factors into the hardship assessment.

Adverse country conditions could include factors having a direct, negative impact on the applicant such as war, natural disasters, unfair treatment of minorities, political instability, lack of employment, widespread violence etc. But you should be careful with them. They cannot form the basis of your case.

The onus is on the applicant to provide information to support the claim of adverse country conditions.

In order to assess an application in which adverse country conditions are cited, decision makers should look at the submissions of the applicant and determine whether redress and/or relocation is available.

One must be especially careful with this factor, because if the information is provided incorrectly, meaning that if this factor sounds like, or the information is perceived as a "refugee claim" as per IRPA ss 96, 97, the application may be refused.

You can use National Documentation Packages for justifying your case.

Health considerations

If applicants allege they will suffer hardship if returned to their country of origin because of a medical condition, decision makers must be satisfied that the applicant requires the treatment, and that the treatment is not available in the applicant’s country of origin.

The applicant cannot refuse to access those services in order to support a claim for hardship in an H&C application.

If the applicant acknowledges that treatment is available but submits that it is at a prohibitively high cost, or that the treatment itself, hospital conditions, availability of medicines, etc., are inadequate or substandard, these factors, if substantiated, should be taken into account and weighed in the balance with the other H&C factors.

Very Simplified Process Model

1. Create a profile on PR-portal,
2. Choose Humanitarian and Compassionate program,
3. Fill out all forms carefully, provide all the documents and pay fees ($1,210 for main applicant + $1,210 if you want your spouse or partner to accompany you + $175 per every dependent child accompanying you),
4. Wait for the decision (you can check approximate waiting times here),
5. Get the decision, and if positive, receive your e-COPR, submit your photo and wait for the PR card.

Basic list of documents you may need:

• passports (all pages - for everyone in the application),
• documents confirming status in Canada (work permit, study permit, visitor record),
• birth certificates (for everyone in the application),
• marriage certificate; divorce certificate, court decision on divorce (including previous marriages and divorces),
• certificates of no criminal record (for persons over 18 years of age) from each country where they lived for more than 6 months since 18 years of age (not required from Canada),
• confirmation of medical examination,
• photo,
• photos representing life in Canada (10-15 meaningful pics with descriptions),
• military ID card or a document replacing it (if applicable),
• documents confirming your establishment in Canada (certificates/letters): employment letter indicating your position, start date and salary, language courses certificates or letters, volunteering certificates, recommendations from church, etc.,
• psychological report (separate for everyone in the application),
• certificates from school for children; confirmation of attendance of any clubs/sections,
• financial documents illustrating your income or financial support,
• letters of support from friends, acquaintances, colleagues, etc., who are PRs or Canadians,
• a personal letter to the officer (average size 3-4 pages, but the more, the better),
• other documents that may be required in your personal situation.

Please bear in mind that this program is the most subjective of all Canadian immigration programs, therefore it is in your best interest to provide as much evidence and explanation as possible to support your case.

You can check Guide 5291 - Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations to get more information.

Personal letter to the officer

The letter should be very emotional, evoke sympathy and desire to help, but at the same time it should be full of details, numbers, names, dates. Divide it into three parts:

1. Introduction: briefly tell about your life before coming to Canada.
2. Describe your situation as emotionally as possible, but with all the details. Try to memorize all the details and convey your emotions to the officer in such a way that they can imagine what happened to you. Also tell how this experience affected you and your family.
   For example, if you're Ukrainian and you escape a war, describe your entire war experience, try to memorize all the details and convey your emotions and fear to the officer in such a way that they can imagine what happened to you, and also tell how the war affected you and your family, but bear in mind that it should not sound like you try to claim an asylum in Canada.
3. Canada: how you got to Canada and what you managed to do during this time (work, study). Also tell about your plans for the future.

In your letter, show your contribution to the community:

• Show your community involvement: Highlight any past or planned volunteer work and community engagement.
• Demonstrate your contribution: Beyond focusing on how Canada benefits you, illustrate how you will positively impact Canadian society.
• Highlight your value: Show how your skills, experience, and community efforts align with Canada’s needs and how you plan to contribute meaningfully.
• Express appreciation: Emphasize your commitment to enriching Canadian society and your readiness to be an active, contributing member.

Your letter should be in line with the abovementioned H&C factors applicable to your situation.

Disclaimer: Provided information is not a legal advice. Every case is unique. We recommend you to discuss your case with a specialist first.

 

Have questions? Want to assess your case? Need professional help?

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