Important Instructions About your Appeal of the Refugee Protection Division Decision that Rejected your Claim

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Also available in these other languages:

Appellant's important instructions in Albanian | Appellant's important instructions in Arabic | Appellant's important instructions in Cantonese | Appellant's important instructions in Creole | Appellant's important instructions in Korean | Appellant's important instructions in Mandarin | Appellant's important instructions in Portuguese | Appellant's important instructions in Punjabi | Appellant's important instructions in Romanian | Appellant's important instructions in Russian | Appellant's important instructions in Spanish | Appellant's important instructions in Tamil | Appellant's important instructions in Turkish | Appellant's important instructions in Urdu

Filing and perfecting your appeal

No later than 15 days from the date you received the written reasons for the RPD decision

  • You must complete a written Notice of Appeal. There is a blank Notice of Appeal attached to these Important Instructions.
  • You must provide three copies (or one only if submitted electronically) of your notice of appeal​) of your notice of appeal to the registry of the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD).
  • Every person appealing with you must be listed on the Notice of Appeal OR a Notice of Appeal for each person appealing the decision must be provided to the RAD.

No later than 45 days from the date you received the written reasons for the RPD decision

  • You must complete an Appellant’s Record.
  • You must provide two copies (or one only if submitted electronically) ​of your Appellant’s Record to the RAD.
  • The documents and information to be included in the Appellant’s Record are found in the Appellant’s Guide

Please note: If you file a Notice of Appeal, after the time limit for filing the Appellant’s Record, your appeal may be dismissed.

Applications for extension of time to file:

Extension of time to file both the Notice of Appeal and the Appellant’s Record

If you were unable to file your Notice of Appeal and your Appellant’s Record on time, you have to make an application to the RAD for an extension of time. In this application, you must give the reasons why you are late. The application for an extension of time must follow rules 6 and 37 of the RAD Rules. You must provide three copies (or one only if submitted electronically)​ of your Notice of Appeal. You also need an affidavit or statutory declaration in support of your application.

Extension of time to file the Appellant’s Record

If you filed your Notice of Appeal on time, but were unable to file the Appellant’s Record on time, you have to make an application to the RAD for an extension of time. In this application, you must give the reasons why you are late. The application for an extension of time must follow rules 6 and 37 of the RAD Rules. You also need an affidavit or statutory declaration in support of your application.

Where to file your appeal documents

You must provide your documents to the RAD Registry office that is located in the same region as the Refugee Protection Division Registry office that provided the notice of decision to you.

Counsel

You may decide that you want counsel to help you with your appeal. If your counsel is charging you a fee or receiving other payment, they must be a member in good standing of a provincial law society (lawyers and paralegals), of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, or of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants​. If your counsel is not charging you a fee, you must complete the form called Notice of Representation Without a Fee or Other Consideration and provide it to the Minister and to the RAD as soon as possible.

If you have counsel, you are responsible for making sure that your counsel meets the deadlines.

Language

You can obtain and complete the Notice of Appeal in the official language of Canada (English or French) that you choose. Any document in another language must be provided together with an English or French translation and a declaration signed by the translator that the translation is accurate.

The Appellant’s Guide found on the IRB website provides more information about choosing between English and French and about asking for an interpreter if an oral hearing is ordered in your appeal.

Your information may be shared with other organizations

The personal information that you provide in the appeal process is collected under the authority of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act for the purpose of deciding your appeal before the RAD. Your personal information may be shared with other organizations, including the Canada Border Services Agency, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Canada, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and law enforcement agencies, for the purpose of administration and enforcement of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

More information and forms are found within the Appellant’s Kit.

Access to the Refugee Appeal Division Rules (RAD Rules) can be found on the Department of Justice Canada Web site.

If you do not have access to a printer, please present yourself to the nearest IRB Office to obtain a paper copy of the Appellant’s Kit.