After a refusal: mapping what remains

A refusal letter answers one question and immediately raises another: what now? In refugee and immigration law there is rarely just one road after a refusal — there is a map. This guide lays out the main paths after a refused claim or application, what each one is for, and how they connect. Which ones are open depends on your file and your dates.

The appeal: the RAD

If the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) refused your refugee claim, the first path to check is the appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD). It reviews the RPD's decision for errors, on the written record. The notice of appeal is due 15 days (to be verified — RAD Rules) after you receive the written reasons, and the complete appeal 30 days (to be verified — RAD Rules) after. While the appeal is ongoing, removal is generally paused by law. This is usually the strongest recourse for a refused claimant who has access to it — the full step-by-step is in the RAD appeal guide.

The review: the Federal Court

Judicial review at the Federal Court applies to almost every immigration refusal: an RPD decision when the RAD is not available, a RAD decision, a refused Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA), a refused humanitarian application. The Court does not redecide your case; it checks whether the decision was lawful and reasonable, and if not, sends it back to be decided again. The deadline for decisions made in Canada is 15 days (to be verified — IRPA s. 72(2)), and only a lawyer can represent you there.

The risk assessment: the PRRA

The PRRA usually comes later, when a removal approaches. It asks whether you would face persecution, torture, or a risk to your life if returned. Two limits matter: after a refused claim, you generally cannot apply within 12 months (to be verified — IRPA s. 112(2)) of the refusal, and the officer only considers evidence that is new since your hearing. The PRRA is not a replay of the refugee claim — it is a claim about what has changed.

The humanitarian application: H&C

A humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) application asks for permanent residence based on your establishment in Canada, the best interests of any children affected, and the hardship you would face. It has no deadline, but two rules shape its timing: you generally cannot file one while a refugee claim is pending or within 12 months (to be verified — IRPA s. 25(1.2)) of a refusal, with exceptions — notably where children are affected — and filing one does not pause a removal. It is the long game, and it often runs alongside one of the paths above.

How the paths combine

These recourses are not exclusive. A common sequence: RAD appeal; if refused, Federal Court; if removal is scheduled, a stay motion, sometimes with a PRRA; and an H&C maturing in parallel. The order matters, because each step protects — or fails to protect — your presence in Canada while the next one is prepared. The expensive mistakes in this area are usually sequencing mistakes: the right application filed at the wrong moment.

What does not change after a refusal

Keep your address up to date with the tribunal, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), and attend any appointment you are given. Refusals do not remove your right to counsel, and they do not remove your right to be treated fairly in every procedure that follows. Keep every document — including the envelope the refusal came in, because the date of receipt drives every deadline above.

What I do

You bring me the refusal; I map your options against your dates, and tell you plainly which paths are open, which are closed, and which are worth taking. Then I run the ones we choose — appeal, judicial review, PRRA, stay, H&C — as one coordinated file rather than four separate ones. I am a lawyer, a member of the Barreau du Québec, and I represent clients anywhere in Canada, in English, French or Spanish. If you qualify for legal aid, we look at that first.

If a refusal has just arrived, the map starts from its date. Let's talk about it.