Humanitarian and compassionate consideration stage 1 approval in Canada: Request for Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ)

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

To become a permanent resident, the applicant must meet the requirements in R68, including that they and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible and otherwise meet the requirements of the Act and Regulations (unless already exempted to meet that requirement at Stage 1).

You must assess all information relating to the requirements and admissibility of the applicant up to the time the applicant is granted permanent resident status, including the permanent residence interview. A final negative decision may be made at any time during processing if the applicant or their family members are found to be inadmissible.

Procedures following a negative Stage 1 assessment

Following a negative Stage 1 assessment do the following:

  • send a refusal letter informing the applicant that the exemption will not be granted
  • if the applicant does not have valid immigration status in Canada, they should be instructed to leave Canada as follows:  
    • If voluntary departure is appropriate, include instructions for confirmation of departure and follow up to see if client departs. If departure is not confirmed within the time alloted, notify CBSA that client is believed to be in Canada without status  
    • if there is an outstanding removal order, inform the CBSA Removals Unit of the negative decision.
  • update the paper file, GCMS and, with the refusal information.

Temporary resident permit (TRP)

There may be situations when an H&C application is refused but issuance of a TRP may be appropriate. For example:

  • if a family member who was included in a permanent residence application cannot be granted permanent residence due to an inadmissibility, a TRP may be issued to the inadmissible family member while permanent residence is granted to the principal applicant and the other accompanying family members. (The principal applicant is granted an exemption to overcome the inadmissibility of the family member (A42)).
  • if you do not believe that there are sufficient grounds to grant an exemption under H&C but there are compelling reasons to allow the applicant to remain in Canada temporarily.

Note: The H&C application must be refused and a rationale provided before a TRP is issued.

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