My refugee claim was denied. Can I appeal?

If the (RPD) rejects your refugee claim, you may be able to appeal to the (RAD). The RAD can:

accept your claim
order a new hearing with a different RPD member
dismiss your appeal

To succeed, you must:

show that the RPD made one or more mistakes, or
give new that would have changed the decision.

Appeal timelines

After you receive the RPD's written negative decision you must file your:

Notice of Appeal Form within 15 days
Appellant's Record, which includes your legal arguments and any new evidence, within 45 days

Who cannot appeal

You cannot appeal to the RAD if:

you made your claim at a land coming from the United States under an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), or
you withdrew your claim.

You also cannot appeal if the RPD:

decided that you your claim,
says your claim has “no credible basis” or is “manifestly unfounded”, or
the RPD took away your refugee status through a cessation or .

If you're eligible and follow the rules, you cannot be removed from Canada until after the RAD decides your appeal.

If you cannot appeal to RAD

You may but you must first get permission or “leave”. If granted, the Court reviews whether the RPD decision was reasonable and the process was fair. If successful, your case goes back to the RPD for a new decision.

Get legal help

A lawyer or other licensed representative can:

tell you if you can appeal to the RAD and the strength of your case
explain other options you may have such as applying for judicial review or permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate reasons

These processes are all complicated and have strict timelines so get legal advice right away.

Sometimes the Minister gets involved in someone's appeal. If that happens, read I appealed to the RAD and the Minister got involved. What do I do?