Please forward this to ONE Canadian immigrant today and tell them to subscribe here.
TL;DR
IRCC has directed officers to refuse in-Canada public policy permanent residence applications when applicants seek H&C relief from an unmet policy condition.
Every principal applicant and accompanying family member must meet the conditions that apply to them.
Refusal letters must identify the unmet condition and acknowledge any H&C request submitted with the application.
Applicants seeking H&C consideration must file a separate permanent residence application and pay the applicable fees.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has told officers they cannot use humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations to waive eligibility conditions in an in-Canada public policy permanent residence application.
The instructions published July 22 mean applicants who fail to meet a policy condition must be refused under that program. An H&C request included in the same file does not produce a second decision on whether permanent residence should be granted on compassionate grounds.
Why H&C requests cannot override a policy condition
Temporary public policies operate under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). They allow the immigration minister to facilitate permanent residence for defined groups or exempt applicants from specified requirements in immigration law.
Each policy also contains its own conditions. IRCC treats those ministerial conditions differently from requirements found in IRPA or the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
“However, as the conditions imposed by the Minister in a public policy are not criteria or obligations of the Act, officers do not have the authority to grant exemptions from the conditions of the public policy set by the Minister,” the operational guidance says.
Officers must assess principal applicants and accompanying family members individually. Anyone who does not meet an applicable condition cannot receive permanent residence through that public policy.
The instructions cover H&C requests attached to in-Canada public policy permanent residence applications. They do not eliminate the separate H&C application process under subsection 25(1) of IRPA.
How it applies to refusal letters and procedural fairness
When refusing a public policy application, officers must identify the condition the applicant failed to meet. They must also acknowledge an attached H&C request and explain that it cannot overcome the policy condition.
In most cases, IRCC says officers must first tell applicants about concerns over their eligibility and allow them to submit supporting information. That step may not be required when the relevant policy expressly requires a complete set of eligibility documents at submission.
If the refusal also involves a requirement under IRPA or its regulations, the letter must distinguish that legal issue from the unmet public policy condition.
IRCC hasn’t always applied the distinction to earlier H&C files
An April 2026 Canada Gazette remission order described earlier instances in which the department recast unsuccessful public policy files as H&C applications without collecting a second processing fee.
Those files involved workers in the Greater Toronto Area who were out of status and health-care workers covered by pandemic-era policies known as the Guardian Angels programs. The order covered projected fee remissions for 88 people, worth up to $40,120.
The Gazette said the additional fees were legally payable because IRCC had made two eligibility decisions. However, applicants had not been told in advance that another fee would be required, and collecting it after closed applications was considered impractical.
IRCC’s public policy index includes permanent residence measures for defined groups such as certain Ukrainians, Hong Kong residents, Afghan nationals, and participants in the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot. Eligibility depends on the exact wording of each policy.
What this means for you
If you plan to apply through an in-Canada public policy, check every condition before submitting your file. An H&C request cannot serve as a backup for missing the policy’s work history, residence, family relationship, document, or other eligibility requirements.
If IRCC raises concerns, respond within the stated deadline and address the specific condition identified. After a refusal, review the letter carefully because it should name the requirement you did not meet.
A standalone H&C application is a separate process with its own forms, evidence, fees, and decision. Filing an H&C request inside the original public policy application will not move that request into the separate process automatically.
