Refugee protection and the IRB
Making a claim, the hearing, appeals, and what comes after a decision.
5 guides
How to Make a Refugee Claim in Canada
Where and how a claim is made, the forms and deadlines that follow, and the rules that make a claim ineligible before it ever reaches a hearing.
8 min read12 sourced figures
What Happens at a Refugee Hearing Before the RPD
Who is in the room, what order things happen in, and what the Basis of Claim deadline actually requires of you.
7 min read8 sourced figures
If Your Refugee Claim Is Refused: RAD, PRRA and H&C
Three different routes, three different deadlines, and bars that rule some of them out entirely. What separates them.
6 min read7 sourced figures
From Protected Person to Permanent Resident
A positive decision is not permanent residence. What the application that follows involves, and who it can bring along.
7 min read9 sourced figures
Working and Getting Health Care While Your Claim Is Pending
Waiting for a hearing does not mean waiting to work or to see a doctor. What is available while a claim is in progress.
6 min read7 sourced figures
Work, study and permanent residence
Express Entry, permits, and the documents and test scores they turn on.
7 guides
Express Entry From India or Pakistan: The Documents You Need
An educational credential assessment and a language test gate the whole process. Both expire, and they expire on different clocks.
5 min read6 sourced figures
Express Entry Proof of Funds: How Much and What Counts
The amount depends on family size, some applicants do not need it at all, and borrowed money never counts.
5 min read8 sourced figures
Canadian Experience Class: The Requirements Explained
One year of skilled work in Canada is the core of it — but not every hour worked in Canada counts toward it.
6 min read7 sourced figures
Police Certificates From India and Pakistan for Canada
The wrong certificate is a common cause of delay. India and Pakistan each have a document IRCC accepts — and a detail that trips people up.
6 min read9 sourced figures
From Study Permit to Work Permit to Permanent Residence
The post-graduation work permit is the hinge in this pathway, and it can only be issued once.
6 min read6 sourced figures
Maintained Status: Working While Your Permit Is Renewed
Apply before the permit expires and you can usually keep working. Apply a day late and the rules change completely.
6 min read10 sourced figures
Language Tests: What CLB Means and Which Score You Need
Programmes ask for a CLB level, but tests report their own scores. Here is how the two line up.
5 min read6 sourced figures
Family
Bringing a spouse, partner, child or parent to Canada.
2 guides
Spousal Sponsorship: Applying Inland or Outland
The two routes differ in more than where the paperwork goes. One of them gives up the right to appeal a refusal.
5 min read4 sourced figures
Super Visa for Parents and Grandparents
Sponsoring parents for permanent residence is paused. The super visa is the route that remains, and a host who meets most of the income minimum can count the visiting parent's own income toward the rest.
7 min read10 sourced figures
Visiting Canada
Visitor visas from India and Pakistan, and what a refusal means.
2 guides
Canada Visitor Visa From India or Pakistan
The officer's central question is whether you will go home again. How an application answers it.
7 min read10 sourced figures
Canada Visitor Visa Refused: Reasons and Next Steps
A second application only succeeds if something has actually changed. What IRCC itself says about reapplying.
6 min read8 sourced figures
Settling and citizenship
The practical first steps after you land, through to citizenship.
2 guides
Settling in Ontario: A SIN, Health Coverage and School
A Social Insurance Number, the right health coverage and a school place. What each one requires and which applies to you.
6 min read6 sourced figures
Canadian Citizenship: The 1,095-Day Rule and Other Requirements
Three years in Canada is the headline. How the days are actually counted is where applications go wrong.
7 min read11 sourced figures
Getting help safely
Who can legally charge for immigration advice, and how to check.
1 guide
These guides explain the process, not your case
Every figure here is cited to the government source it came from, so it can be checked. What none of it can do is tell you how a rule applies to your own circumstances, which is usually the question that matters.