To enter or remain in Canada, you must be considered admissible by IRCC or the Canada Border Services Agency. If you are found inadmissible, the next step is to identify the reason and the best available legal remedy for your situation.
If you have been told you may be inadmissible to Canada, the situation can feel confusing and serious. The concern may relate to medical, criminal, misrepresentation, financial, security, or previous immigration history, and the next step depends on the specific facts.
This service is for clients who need a careful review before responding to a concern, submitting documents, or choosing a possible resolution pathway.
To enter or remain in Canada, you must be considered admissible by IRCC or the Canada Border Services Agency. If you are found inadmissible, the next step is to identify the reason and the best available legal remedy for your situation.
Having a criminal record, even from another country, can make you inadmissible to Canada. This includes convictions for DUI, assault, drug offences, theft, fraud, and more. The severity depends on the Canadian equivalent of the offence.
A medical condition may create inadmissibility if it is likely to be a danger to public health or public safety, or in some cases because of excessive demand on health or social services.
Providing false, misleading, or incomplete information can lead to a finding of misrepresentation and serious consequences, including refusal and a multi-year ban.
Inadmissibility may also arise from financial reasons, security concerns, non-compliance with the immigration law, or even an inadmissible accompanying family member in some applications.
Inadmissibility files require careful analysis because the facts, documents, and wording matter. RA Migration understands that a rushed or incomplete response can create long-term consequences for future immigration plans.
We help review the issue, organize evidence, identify inconsistencies, and prepare clear submissions where appropriate. We focus on honest advice, careful preparation, and helping you understand the risks before taking action.
If inadmissibility has become part of your immigration file, RA Migration can help you approach the issue with structure and care.
Misrepresentation is one of the most serious findings in Canadian immigration law. It results in a 5‑year ban on entering Canada or applying for any status, and it stays on your record. A finding can come from something as seemingly small as inconsistent answers on different forms, an undisclosed past refusal from another country, or an employer or school providing false documents on your behalf (you can be found inadmissible even if the misrepresentation was done by someone else).
What you can do:
Judicial review at the Federal Court, challenging the finding itself if the officer’s analysis was unreasonable or procedurally unfair. Tight deadlines apply.
Wait out the 5‑year ban, then reapply with a strong, complete file that explicitly acknowledges the prior finding and addresses it head‑on. Hiding it will make things worse.
Apply for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) if you have a compelling reason to enter Canada.
Apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds if exceptional circumstances justify overriding inadmissibility.
No, but you are likely inadmissible, which is different, and it needs to be addressed before you apply or travel. Inadmissibility comes in several flavours: criminal, medical (in a narrower set of cases than people fear), security, misrepresentation, financial, and failure to comply with previous conditions.
Depending on the issue and how much time has passed, there are real solutions: Criminal Rehabilitation, Deemed Rehabilitation, a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), or legal submissions explaining why the issue shouldn’t bar your entry. The worst thing you can do is hide it. Misrepresentation brings a 5‑year ban, and officers usually find out.
It’s almost never over, but the clock is ticking, and the right move depends entirely on what you were refused for and which program. Your options may include:
Reapplying with a stronger file (often the fastest route if the refusal was about missing evidence or a weak explanation).
An appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), available for certain family sponsorship refusals, removal orders, and residency obligation cases.
Judicial review at the Federal Court, a legal challenge arguing the officer made an unreasonable decision or breached procedural fairness. Strict 15 or 60 day deadline.
A humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) application if there are exceptional circumstances.
The first thing to do after a refusal is get the officer’s notes (the GCMS notes). They reveal why the file was actually refused. Don’t reapply blindly.
A Pre‑Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is often the last chance to stop a removal. It’s an application to IRCC asking them to assess whether returning you to your country would expose you to persecution, torture, risk to life, or cruel and unusual treatment. You cannot simply choose to apply. CBSA will notify you of your eligibility when removal proceedings begin and provide you with the application kit.
There is generally a 12‑month bar. If your refugee claim or a previous PRRA was refused, abandoned, or withdrawn, you typically cannot apply again for 12 months. IRCC maintains a list of country‑specific exemptions that change over time.
Deadlines are extremely tight, usually 15 days if you received the kit in person, or up to 22 to 30 days by mail. PRRAs are almost always decided on paper, not at a hearing, so the quality of written submissions and supporting evidence is everything. Approval rates are historically lower than RPD hearings. If you’ve received a PRRA notification or are facing imminent removal, do not wait.
Yes, potentially, and this is one of the most urgent developments in Canadian refugee law. Bill C‑12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, received royal assent on March 26, 2026. It creates two new eligibility bars that stop certain claims from being referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD):
The one‑year rule: A claim made more than one year after your first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020 is ineligible for the RPD, regardless of whether you left and returned.
The 14‑day rule: A claim made by someone who entered between ports of entry along the Canada to US land border and filed more than 14 days later is ineligible for the RPD.
The critical part for your question: these bars apply retroactively to claims made on or after June 3, 2025, INCLUDING claims already referred to the RPD. IRCC has already started issuing procedural fairness letters to affected claimants, some received them within days of the bill becoming law. If you fall into one of these categories, your RPD claim can be terminated even though it was already in progress.
People affected by the new bars are redirected to the Pre‑Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) process instead of a full RPD hearing. PRRA approval rates are historically much lower than RPD approval rates, and decisions are almost always made on paper. Constitutional challenges to Bill C‑12 are underway, but outcomes will take time.
If you’ve made a refugee claim and either rule could apply to you, contact us immediately, especially if you’ve received any procedural fairness letter from IRCC. The sooner we respond, the more options you have.
