In Canada, if you have sponsored a family member and their application for a permanent residence visa was refused, you can appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD). This is where you can explain why the visa application should be accepted, and it is called a sponsorship appeal. You can appeal to the IAD if you are a permanent resident or Canadian citizen who made an application to sponsor a family member to immigrate to Canada and the visa application was refused by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
However, you cannot appeal if the person you sponsored was found inadmissible to Canada. This means they are not allowed to come to Canada for specific reasons, such as if they lied on their application or withheld information. The IAD may still accept appeals in such cases if the sponsored person is a spouse, common-law partner, or child. To appeal the refusal of an application for a permanent resident visa for a sponsored family member, you need to complete and submit a Notice of Appeal form to the office of the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) within 30 days of receiving the IRCC refusal letter which contains the written reasons for refusal. Preparing for a spousal sponsorship refusal appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division can be complex, and there are several procedural rules, deadlines, and document requirements that need to be met.
It is important to be adequately prepared for the case and to provide oral testimony at the tribunal. If your appeal at the Immigration Appeal Division is rejected, you typically only have recourse to the Federal Court of Canada. It generally takes 12 to 18 months to overturn the decision of a rejected spousal sponsorship application in Canada.
Citations:
[2] https://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/forms/Pages/notice-of-appeal-sponsorship.aspx
