The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or the Immigration Division (ID) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) may issue a Removal Order to a foreign national or permanent resident deemed to be inadmissible to Canada. There are three types of removal orders—Departure Order, Exclusion Order, and Deportation Order—which are issued based on the ground upon which a person is found to be inadmissible.

 

A Departure Order generally requires a person to leave Canada within 30 days of the departure order coming into effect. These individuals are exempt from the requirement to obtain an Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC), so long as a Certificate of Departure was obtained from CBSA at the POE prior to departure. If a person fails to leave within the given time or leaves but failed to provide the Certificate of Departure, the departure order automatically turns into a deportation order, resulting in more serious consequences.

 

An Exclusion Order bars a person from returning to Canada for either one or five years.  If a person wants to return to Canada within the one-year or five-year period, they must first receive an ARC. The five-year bar is usually reserved for more serious offences, such as misrepresentation, while the one-year bar is applicable to less serious offences such as failing to leave Canada at the end of one’s authorized stay.  

 

A Deportation Order is the most serious of all removal orders, and permanently bars a person from retuning to Canada without first obtaining an ARC. As previously noted, a departure order turns into a deportation order when the person fails to comply with the removal procedure.

 

Permanent residents who have been issued a removal order may have the option to appeal said order to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the IRB. Foreign nationals, however, do not possess such appeal right and may instead apply for Judicial Review. Where removal proceedings have commenced and a Direction to Report has been issued, the person concerned may request an Administrative Deferral of Removal. If the request is denied, they may then proceed to the Federal Court for a Stay of Removal, which is an extraordinary equitable relief. In this case, a formal request (a motion) is submitted to the Court requesting a temporary suspension of the removal order pending an outcome. To be successful, the applicant must be able to show that there is a serious issue to be tried; irreparable harm will ensue if a stay is not granted; and the balance of convenience lies in their favour.

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