Refugee Appeal Division (RAD): Appeals and Deadlines

Section 110 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) lets a claimant, or the Minister, appeal an RPD decision to allow or reject a refugee claim on a question of law, of fact, or of mixed law and fact. A RAD member reviews the RPD record and the documents the parties send. In most cases there is no hearing, so your written appeal is the whole case.

To file the notice of appeal after receiving written reasons

15 days

To file the appellant's record (30 in the regulations)

45 days

Maximum memorandum length, one-sided

30 pages

Average RAD wait at the end of 2025 (IRB)

4 months

The point most people get wrong is the deadline. It runs from the day you receive the written reasons, not from the hearing or the day you heard the result. The IRB treats reasons sent by mail as received 7 days after mailing. The appeal is not complete until the appellant's record arrives, and an appeal that is not perfected on time can be dismissed.

These limits come from subsection 110(2) of the Act. The IRB adds one more: a claim deemed rejected under Article 1F(b) of the Refugee Convention because of an order of surrender under the Extradition Act cannot be appealed. The Minister cannot appeal a positive decision for a designated foreign national or for a claim referred under a Safe Third Country Agreement exception.

1. 1

   1. Read the reasons

   Note the date you received the RPD's written reasons. Get the hearing recording or transcript if you will rely on it. Start right away: the time limits are short.

2. 2

   2. File the notice of appeal (15 days)

   Section 159.91 of the regulations sets 15 days after you receive the written reasons. The notice gives your contact information, your counsel's details and any limits on their retainer, your IRCC client number, the RPD file number, the date you received the reasons, your choice of English or French, and any designated representative.

3. 3

   3. Perfect the appeal (45 days)

   The regulations say 30 days after receiving the written reasons, but a RAD practice notice in force since September 28, 2020 extends this to 45 days. Your appellant's record must reach the RAD within that time.

4. 4

   4. If the Minister intervenes

   You receive a notice of intervention and any documents the Minister relies on. The IRB says you have 15 days to reply.

5. 5

   5. Decision

   A RAD member decides, usually without a hearing. You receive written reasons. If the RAD orders a hearing, you and the Minister receive a notice to appear with the issues to be considered, and the RAD provides an interpreter if you need one.

• Notice of decision and reasonsThe RPD decision you are appealing (RAD Rule 3(3)(a)).
• Transcript, if you rely on itAll or part of the RPD hearing transcript, with the transcriber's signed declaration that it is accurate.
• Refused documentsAny documents the RPD refused to accept, if you want to rely on them.
• Written statementWhether you rely on new evidence under subsection 110(4), whether you ask for a hearing, and the language and dialect for an interpreter if one is held.
• Evidence and legal authoritiesAny documentary evidence and any law or case law you rely on.
• MemorandumFull and detailed submissions on the errors, where they are in the reasons or transcript, how any new evidence meets subsection 110(4), the decision you want and why a hearing is needed. Maximum 30 pages one-sided or 15 pages double-sided.

The RAD is not a second hearing of your whole claim. Under subsection 110(4) of the Act, you can present only evidence that:

• Arose after the rejectionFor example, an event or document dated after the RPD decision.
• Was not reasonably availableIt existed, but you could not reasonably have obtained it before the RPD rejected your claim.
• Could not reasonably have been presentedYou had it, but in the circumstances you could not reasonably have been expected to present it at the RPD.

These limits do not apply to evidence you present in response to evidence from the Minister (subsection 110(5)). Explain in your memorandum how each new document meets the test and how it relates to you. Documents not in English or French need a translation and a signed translator's declaration.

The RAD may hold a hearing only if there is documentary evidence that raises a serious issue about your credibility, is central to the decision and, if accepted, would justify allowing or rejecting the claim (subsection 110(6)). Ask for one in your appellant's record and explain why.

If the RAD rejects your appeal, your conditional removal order comes into force 15 days after the RAD gives notice (IRPA paragraph 49(2)(e)), unless a stay applies. While your RAD appeal is pending, the removal order is not in force.

After the RAD decides, you can ask the Federal Court to review the decision. Section 72 of the Act requires an application for leave, filed and served within 15 days after you are notified of a decision made in Canada. The Court first decides whether to grant leave; if it does, it holds a hearing and, if it finds an error, sends the case back to be decided again. It does not grant refugee protection itself.

Under the Federal Courts Rules, an individual may act in person or be represented by a solicitor, so immigration consultants cannot appear there. Under section 231 of the regulations, applying for leave against a RAD decision stays removal until the Court decides, except for designated foreign nationals, people inadmissible for serious criminality, and some people who live in the United States or St. Pierre and Miquelon. If the RPD decision could not be appealed to the RAD, you can apply to the Federal Court directly, but removal is not automatically on hold.

If you hire counsel, you pay their fees yourself; legal aid may help in your province. Time limits in effect on November 4, 2026:

1. 15 days after written reasons

   Notice of appeal to the RAD

2. 45 days after written reasons

   Appellant's record

   30 days in the regulations, extended by a RAD practice notice

3. 15 days

   Reply to a Minister's intervention

4. 15 days after notification

   Federal Court application for leave after the RAD decision

In briefing material for a March 2026 committee appearance, the IRB reported an average wait of 4 months from filing to a RAD decision at the end of December 2025, an inventory of about 4,700 appeals, and that 28% of the appeals it decided from April to December 2025 were allowed. The live figure below is IRB data on past cases, not a forecast for your appeal.