Can You Leave Canada During an H&C Application?
A detailed look at the law, official guidelines, and real-world practice
This seemingly simple question generates a surprising amount of debate. Online forums are full of conflicting advice, and even some immigration consultants err on the side of caution, telling their clients to stay put in Canada no matter what. As it turns out, the correct answer requires a careful reading of the law, the regulations, and the official processing guidelines – all of which we lay out below with links to primary sources.
Framing the Question
Precision matters, so let us first define what "can you leave" actually means in this context.
We can immediately set aside the literal reading – whether Canada will physically prevent you from departing. It will not. Canada does not detain people to keep them in the country.
That leaves one meaningful interpretation: will leaving Canada cause your humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) application to be refused? With that question in mind, let us work through the sources.
The Law and Regulations
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), section 25, is concise on the subject of humanitarian and compassionate considerations:
The authorities may grant permanent resident status to an applicant who is inadmissible (with certain exceptions) or who otherwise does not meet the requirements of immigration law, on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, taking into account the best interests of any child directly affected.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), as one would expect of subordinate legislation, provide somewhat more detail – but nothing of substance in relation to the question of whether an applicant may travel during processing.
Official Guidelines: IP 5
IP 5: Immigrant Applications in Canada Made on Humanitarian or Compassionate Grounds
IP stands for "inland processing" – the handling of applications submitted from within Canada. IP 5 is the principal operational manual for H&C applications. It runs to over 100 pages and describes the entire assessment process in considerable detail.
IP 5 is not freely available online. Older versions can be found in various archives, but anyone who needs the current edition can request it through an Access to Information request.
The document lists the key factors that officers consider in H&C applications (with the caveat that the list is not exhaustive):
- establishment in Canada
- ties to Canada
- best interests of children
- factors in the country of origin
- health considerations
- elements of family violence
- consequences of separation from family
- inability to leave Canada that led to establishment in the country
These same factors are listed on the IRCC website in the instructions for filing H&C applications.
A Note on OP 4
Another official document, OP 4: Processing of Applications under Section 25 of the IRPA, also exists (likewise not freely available). However, OP stands for "overseas processing," and the document's introduction states that it does not apply to section 68 of the IRPR – that is, to inland H&C applications. It can therefore be set aside for our purposes, though it too contains nothing that would contradict the conclusion of this article.
What the Rules Actually Say About Leaving
Across all of the sources cited above, there is exactly one statement about leaving Canada while an H&C application is being processed: if the applicant leaves Canada, there is no guarantee that Canada will allow them back in. The official wording of this caveat is reproduced in the following excerpt:
The meaning is straightforward: if an applicant awaiting an H&C decision leaves Canada – for a vacation, a business trip, or to visit family – they may not be readmitted.
This is because they are neither a permanent resident nor a citizen of Canada. Only those two categories of people have a right to enter Canada; for everyone else, entry is a privilege.
Having a pending H&C application – or even an approval in principle, if the case has progressed that far – does not grant the applicant a right of entry. They still need a valid visa and must still meet all the standard requirements for foreign nationals entering Canada.
Why is this warning included at all? Because many applicants mistakenly believe that any pending application for permanent residence (not just H&C) automatically extends their legal status or gives them additional entry privileges. It does not, and the guidelines spell this out to prevent misunderstandings.
How Travel Affects H&C Criteria
Now let us examine each of the H&C assessment factors and ask: does leaving Canada during processing weaken the applicant's case on that factor?
Establishment and Ties to Canada
In some extreme scenarios, a departure from Canada could affect the degree of establishment claimed by the applicant – for instance, if they left for an extended period and severed their connections to the country.
But there is no direct impact. Establishment in Canada does not reset to zero upon departure, and ties to Canada are not automatically severed by a trip abroad.
Best Interests of Children
This too depends on the specific circumstances. One could perhaps construct a hypothetical in which travel would significantly affect this factor, but in the general case, the best interests of children are not linked to the applicant's short-term departure from Canada.
Country Conditions
Leaving Canada cannot change conditions in the country of origin. If the applicant's home country has been ravaged by conflict, economic collapse, or political chaos, none of that changes because the applicant boarded a plane.
Even if one were to assume that the applicant traveled specifically to their country of origin, this might raise questions in the context of the application (though in practice, we have not seen it happen) – but it could not, on its own, be the basis for a refusal.
Health and Family Violence
Whether the applicant leaves Canada or stays – this has no direct bearing on either of these factors.
Consequences of Family Separation
In the H&C context, "separation" refers to the consequences of a refusal: the question is who will suffer, and how severely, if the application is denied and family members are permanently separated. This is fundamentally different from a brief trip abroad. Moreover, leaving Canada does not necessarily mean separation from family at all.
This factor, too, has no traceable connection to travel during processing.
Inability to Leave Canada
This is the most interesting factor in the context of our question. Here is what IP 5 says about it in greater detail:
As we can see, even this factor contains nothing that would weaken the applicant's position if they left Canada for a week or two.
Real-World Practice
The strongest confirmation that leaving Canada during an H&C application is permissible comes from actual practice.
Our clients do travel outside Canada after filing H&C applications and before receiving a decision – and they receive approvals.
The application package includes a form disclosing prior travel history, but the applicant has no obligation to notify the visa office of subsequent trips. This is precisely because travel has no direct bearing on the outcome of the application.
One can reasonably assume that if leaving Canada were truly prohibited, the restriction would be communicated explicitly – for example, in a separate paragraph of the acknowledgement letter the applicant receives after filing.
Why You Should Think Twice
For anyone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, there is always a small risk that re-entry to Canada will be denied after a trip abroad.
Such cases are rare, and there is usually a concrete reason behind the refusal, but the possibility of complications at the border can never be entirely ruled out.
What If You Are Denied Re-Entry?
Will the H&C application be automatically refused? No.
A departure from Canada and a subsequent denial of re-entry are not, by themselves, grounds for refusing an H&C application. They will, however, be taken into account when the decision is made – why was entry denied, how long the applicant remained outside Canada, and how their absence changed the overall situation.
A decision can even be rendered in the applicant's favour while they are outside Canada; such cases exist. Furthermore, the regulations expressly provide for the possibility of filing an H&C application without being in Canada at all.
The Verdict
If you are in Canada and have filed a humanitarian and compassionate application, you may leave and re-enter just as any foreign national would – provided you hold a valid visa and meet the standard entry requirements.
Travel during processing does not, by itself, have any negative consequences for your H&C application.
Lawpoint Immigration has extensive experience with humanitarian and compassionate applications in Canada. If you have questions about your specific situation, we can provide a professional assessment.