Immigration Blog about US & Canadian Immigration matters.

An Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC) is special permission from the Canadian Government that you may need if you are looking to come to Canada after being subject to a removal order. Removal Orders fall under 3 categories, each of which result in you admissibility to Canada.

Continue reading below to find out if you need to apply for an ARC before legally returning to Canada…

What is ARC?

ARC is authorization to return to Canada. It is needed when someone was once in Canada, then they were asked to leave using one of the three removal orders we have, and now they want to come back into the country. There are three types of removal orders in Canada: departure order, exclusion order and deportation order.

Departure Order

Departure order gives you the choice to leave Canada voluntarily or else you will be forced to leave Canada. If you had received a departure order and you left Canada within the required 30 days, and you verified your departure with a Canadian immigration officer at the port of exit, you do not need ARC. However, if you left the country without verifying your departure, or you left more than 30 days after the order was issued, the departure order automatically becomes a deportation order and you would need to apply for an ARC.