September 2025

IRCC states on their website that you don’t need to hire a representative. You can get all the necessary forms and instructions for an immigration application on the IRCC website. Then, if you follow the instructions, you should be able to fill out the forms and submit them yourself. This is how it should be, but the reality is more complicated, and you should be aware of the pros and cons of self-representation before deciding on whether you would like to have a lawyer’s legal assistance. I have blogged about this issue in the past—Yes, You Really Do Need a Lawyer to Help You and Shocker: Your Canadian Immigration Application is More Likely to be Accepted if Prepared with the Assistance of a Lawyer.

 

Even when the forms are straightforward, they are still only a part of a complex immigration system. Decisions that seem trivial may entail larger immigration consequences in the future. The recent Federal Court case, Kaur v. Canada, is an excellent illustration of this challenge.

 

The applicant submitted the sponsorship application under the Parent and Grandparent Program, but she was found ineligible to sponsor her parents because she did not meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) requirement. On the application form, she had indicated that she wished to withdraw the application rather than receive an adverse decision should she be found ineligible to sponsor her parents. She checked the box that read “Withdraw your sponsorship application. All processing fees minus the sponsorship fee will be refunded”. The other box reads, “Proceed with the application for permanent residence. Processing fees will be retained.”

This seems like a simple decision; given the choice of ‘get your money back’ or ‘don’t get your money back’, getting a refund seems a preferable option.

 

However, the instructions for the form include a note that states, “Check 'Proceed with the application for permanent residence' if you are requesting that an officer review your application for potential humanitarian and compassionate considerations”. A self-representing applicant is unlikely to comprehend the implications of this note. They are also unlikely to realize, based on the instructions, that by checking the box to withdraw their sponsorship application, they are also withdrawing their right to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board, which has jurisdiction to consider H&C relief.

 

The applicant’s counsel argued that the applicant did not have legal representation when she first applied, and nothing in the guidance published on the IRCC website warns applicants that withdrawal of an application will deprive them of their right to appeal to the IAD.

 

In response, the Federal Court stated that:

[23] … While Ms. Kaur was not required to seek the assistance of a lawyer when completing the sponsorship application, she must accept the consequences of not doing so. […]

[24] The Officer had no obligation to clarify or rectify any deficiencies in Ms. Kaur’s Page: 9 application, to help her to make her case, to apprise her of concerns about whether the requirements set out in the legislation had been met, to provide her with a running score at every step of the application process, or to offer further opportunities to respond to unresolved concerns (Lv v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2018 FC 935 at para 23). Nor could the Officer be expected to provide guidance to Ms. Kaur on whether and how to preserve her appeal rights in the event that she was found ineligible to sponsor her parents.

 

Many self-representing applicants are unaware of the potential consequences of decisions they make within the immigration system. Illustrated by the case above, the instructions provided by IRCC are insufficient in providing guidance on the potential consequences. As such, a seemingly trivial matter could later trigger a much more complicated and costly process to rectify. While a lawyer is not required, applicants must understand the risks of navigating the immigration system without one.