If you are a permanent resident in Canada, or if you’re a foreign national who is in Canada temporarily, Canada’s immigration laws allow for you to be deported from Canada under certain circumstances.
There are different types of situations that can lead to you being issued a removal order. There are also different types of removal orders that exist in Canada.
Circumstances That May Lead to Deportation From Canada
One situation in which a removal order may be issued is where a person’s appeal to remain in Canada as a temporary resident or otherwise has been denied at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). This may happen when the IAD makes a decision to dismiss a person’s appeal and instead issue a removal order.
A second situation may be where Canada’s Border Services Agency issues a removal order to a person at the airport or at a border crossing into Canada. Canada’s Border Services Agency may do so upon interaction with a person at the airport or border. After doing an examination, they may determine that a person should be issued a removal order for a variety of reasons.
A third instance in which one may be issued a removal order from Canada is where a person has an appeal before Canada’s Refugee Appeal Division. It may be issued if that appeal has been dismissed. In such a situation, the person will then be issued a removal order to leave Canada.
Types of Removal Orders in Canada
Generally speaking, there are three types of getting deported to Canada; a departure order, an exclusion order and a deportation order.
Departure Order
The first type of removal order is known as a departure order. A departure order in essence, requires you to leave Canada within 30 days. In other words, a person is allowed a maximum 30 days period within which to leave Canada.
Upon leaving Canada, there is an expectation that a person will advise the Border Services Officers at the airport or the land crossing, that they are in fact leaving as instructed to do so in the departure letter.
If a person conforms to those two requirements, that is, they leave within the 30 day period, and they report to the Border Services Officer upon departure, then they would be eligible to return to Canada at some future date. Return to Canada would be possible provided that a person is eligible to do so; having your visa if required and so on.
In case a person has neglected to leave within the stipulated 30 day period, or has neglected to advise the authorities when they were leaving, that they were in fact leaving pursuant to the departure letter, then the initial removal order automatically becomes a deportation order. Consequently, when the removal order automatically becomes a deportation order, it becomes a more serious issue.
Exclusion Order
The second type of a removal order is known as an exclusion order. An exclusion order excludes a person from returning to Canada for at least one year, depending on the reasons that led to that exclusion order being issued.
For instance, if the reason for exclusion was misrepresentation, where a person made false statements or withheld some kind of important information at the time of applying for their status in Canada, then an exclusion order will be issued. Once it is issued, such a person will not be eligible to return to Canada until five years have lapsed.
Therefore, an exclusion order excludes a person from returning to Canada for a period of one year. However, it could even be up to a period of five years if a person was found to have misrepresented, and an exclusion order issued on that basis.
Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC)
It is important to note that while an exclusion order excludes a person from returning to Canada before a set period of time lapses, there is an option for persons who are wanting to return before the designated period ends to apply to return to Canada. Such persons can apply for a special authorization known as an authorization to return to Canada or an ARC. While it is not impossible to apply for this special authorization to return to Canada, it can be challenging.
Deportation Order
The third type of removal order from Canada is a deportation order. This is a more severe form of removal order in the sense that it permanently bans a person from returning to Canada. The only way a person may be able to return to Canada after being issued a deportation order is unless they successfully apply for an ARC. It is therefore important to avoid, at all costs, being deported from Canada.
In addition, if you are deported from Canada or sent out of Canada based on an exclusion order, and if the Canadian Border Services Officers had to pay your airfare on your way out of Canada, you will be required to reimburse the authorities before you’re ever going to be able to return to Canada.
What Can You Do If Issued A Removal Order?
In the unfortunate event that you are issued any one of these removal orders, it is important for you to know what your options are in the particular circumstances. You would need to seek legal representation from a good lawyer. If you’re a permanent resident, depending on the reasons that you’ve been issued the removal order, you may have a right to appeal it.
However, if it was issued for a reason that is based on certain types of serious criminality, it is likely that you will not have a right to appeal. This would mean that you would need guidance on how to file a judicial review application before Canada’s Federal Courts. Whichever the case, it is vital for you to have good legal advice if you have been issued any form of removal order from Canada.
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