[Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), section 163]
The Chairperson of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) has ordered that the appeal before the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) in IAD file no. MB5-05031 be conducted before a panel of three members of the IAD.
In Sendwa v. Canada Citizenship and Immigration), 2016 FC 216, the Federal Court concluded that the IAD was too restrictive in its interpretation of paragraph 117(1)(h) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (Regulations). Paragraph 117(1)(h) allows a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor a relative of any age as a member of the family class where they do not have a living spouse, partner, child, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece who is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, or who they can otherwise sponsor as a permanent resident
In allowing the application for judicial review in Sendwa, the Federal Court introduced admissibility and eligibility considerations as factors in deciding eligibility for sponsorship applications under paragraph 117(1)(h) of the Regulations.
The appeal in MB5-05031 raises issues with respect to the interpretation of paragraph 117(1)(h).
In the interest of developing a coherent national jurisprudence, the Chairperson of the IRB has ordered that a three member panel be constituted so that the IAD may review the law with respect to paragraph 117(1)(h) of the Regulations, including Sendwa, and address any possibly conflicting jurisprudence. While a decision of a three-member panel of the IAD is not binding on other IAD panels, it can still assist other IAD panels in dealing with issues ruled upon by the three-member panel.