Refugee Appeals

If one wants to file a refugee appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), it is essential to meet some qualifications.

Below are the key requirements:

Negative Decision from the Refugee Protection Division (RPD):
The claimant has to have been rejected by the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) in relation to their refugee claim.In case the RPD grants refugee protection status or makes a positive decision there is no further appeal.

Timely Filing:
The notice must be filed within fifteen (15) business days in the case of an appeal to the RPD’s decision. This is a strict deadline. Where the claimant is unable to produce a response before this time, then they should apply for an extension before the 15 days elapse, accompanied with reasonable grounds for not working to the required timeline.

Not an Excluded Case:
Some refugee decisions are incapable of being appealed. The following cases are excluded from the RAD appeal process: Refugee protection claimed by designated foreign nationals under the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). The ‘hart string’ that responding institutions shall utilize while handling such cases includes: Cases that relate to the following; Certain criminality including cases involving a person who has been convicted of a serious criminal offense. Some random crossing of the border for the claimant where the individual is precluded from accessing the RAD process as a result of the mode of entry into the country.

No Precedent for Judicial Review:
These rules state that where the case has been taken to Federal Court and determined, the claimant cannot appeal to the RAD if the decision was made by the RPD. The procedural means to put legal pressure on the decision would be the judicial review.

Eligible to Appear Before RAD:
Someone can only appeal in the Canadian refugee system if they are a eligible claimant in the system. This means the claimant must not be inadmissible on grounds of security, or have any other ground that makes him or her inadmissible under the Canadian Immigration Act.

Grounds for Appeal:
The claimant must be appealing a decision that was made based on some or both of the following: error on points of law, error on points of fact or a mix of the two made by the RPD. The RAD does not review the case again but only looks at if the RPD made legal or even factual errors that can make it overturn the decision.

In so doing, a claimant can appeal to the RAD in case the case meets the set conditions. Again it must be pointed out that the duty of the RAD is not to rehear the case but to review whether the decision made by the RPD can be considered reasonable having regard to the evidence and law at the time.