Making a complaint to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada

​​​​​​​​​​Who can make a complaint?

Anyone can make a complaint to the IRB about:

  • the conduct of an IRB member;
  • a person who represents a client at the IRB for a fee, but is not authorized by a law society, the Chambres des notaires du Québec, or the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants​;
  • the conduct and services of an Interpreter.

Making a complaint about the conduct of an IRB member​

Members of the IRB are held to the highest standards of conduct. You may file a complaint about the conduct of any IRB member either by email at irb.ombudsoffice-bureauombuds.cisr@irb-cisr.gc.ca, or by mail.

Your complaint must be about

Your complaint cannot be about

  • what a member decides in a case
  • questions such as lack of procedural fairness and natural justice

You cannot submit a complaint anonymously. However, the identities of everyone involved will be kept confidential to the extent that it is possible to do so, subject to the Privacy Act and the Access to Information Act.

You are encouraged to use the complaint form to submit your complaint. However, you may also submit a complaint without using this form. If you choose to do so, please refer to section 4.2 of the procedures for making a complaint about a member which outlines the details that you need to include in your complaint.

Complaints will be actioned within the established service standards for the processing of member complaints.

The annual reports on complaints made against members as well as case summaries are also available.

Making a complaint about an unauthorized paid representative

If the counsel representing you before the IRB is not a lawyer in good standing with the bar of a province or territory; a notary in good standing with the Chambre des notaires du Québec; or an immigration consultant in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants,​ your counsel is therefore considered an “unauthorized representative”.

You may choose to be represented by a counsel who is an “unauthorized representative”, however, this individual is not allowed to charge you a fee (ask you for money or compensation).

If you have paid your counsel and they are “unauthorized”, you may choose to file a complaint with the IRB against your counsel. You must express your complaint about your counsel to the IRB member during your hearing.

For more information, refer to the ​Policy on disclosing information regarding the conduct of authorized representatives to regulatory bodies.

Making a complaint about an interpreter

Interpreters are important contributors to the refugee and immigration system who interpret dialogue during the proceedings. Whatever is said in one language should be interpreted faithfully and accurately into the other language using the exact equivalent meaning and structure.

Please fill out this complaint form and send it to the attention of the Interpreter Unit of the regional offices where the incident occurred.

Making a complaint about interpretation

Complaints about interpretation should be made to the Member in the hearing room.