Immigration Blog about US & Canadian Immigration matters.

What Makes this type of Application Special

Submitting an application for permanent residence can already be a cumbersome process. Now, an application for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (PR with H and C) consideration is even more complicated than any other type of permanent resident application. This is because you are applying for permanent residence without being eligible to apply through the regularly accepted routes, such as Express Entry, Family Class Sponsorship, and so on. More specifically, you are applying for your permanent residence, because you will suffer from hardship if you return to your home country. In this blog, you will learn about the eligibility for this type of application as well as the application process.

Who is Eligible to Apply for PR with H and C

If you can provide compelling reasons that explain the extreme hardship you will likely be facing upon returning to your home country, you may be eligible to apply for PR with H and C. You also may apply for PR with H and C if you are already in Canada at the present time. You will need to convince an immigration officer that if you leave your established life in Canada, you will encounter unbearable life crisis.

What is H&C ?

The cases that do not fall under the more common applications for permanent residence either within family class or economy class are considered under H&C (humanitarian and compassionate considerations). These are generally unique, complex, and favourable cases decided on an exceptional basis. The H&C class allows the immigration officer or minister to grant permanent or transient residency in Canada to applicants who would otherwise not be able to meet the statutory and regulatory criteria. Individual who apply under this criteria generally are doing so as a final attempt to remain in Canada and were often unsuccessful to gain even refugee status.

H&C Applications

The H&C applications are made from outside of Canada. However there is an exemption for a person living in Canada to apply for it, only in circumstances which would show that a person would face undeserved, unusual or disproportionate hardship if required to leave. This exemption does not include inconvenience of leaving an established life in Canada.

H&C Application Eligibility

It is important to note that H&C class is not intended as a parallel process to refugee determination. Refugee claimants may not submit an application for permanent residence for H&C considerations while under refugee claims are still in process. Designated foreign national may not apply for H&C for at least five years after the day of their designation or if there is a refugee claim or an appeal pending before a division of the IRB.

For those that may apply for H&C, their application is assessed on its own merits; officers consider the humanitarian and compassionate consideration for each application on individual basis of the applicant’s personal circumstances.