Can You Leave Canada While a Humanitarian Application Is Under Review?

The question of whether applicants under the Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) program are allowed to leave Canada while their application is under review often becomes a source of confusion.

Despite its apparent simplicity, it gives rise to dozens of disputes in forums and chats, and some consultants give overly cautious advice — they recommend “staying in Canada and not moving,” so as not to harm the case.
However, official sources — the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Regulations (IRPR), and IRCC instructions — do not contain any provision that would prohibit leaving Canada while a humanitarian application is being processed.
At the same time, there are several nuances to consider: even without a legal prohibition, certain trips may call your reasoning into question and, as a result, negatively affect the outcome of the case.

The Essence of the Question: What “Can Leave” Means

First of all, it is worth clarifying that the issue is not about the physical “will they let you out or not.”
Canada does not restrict a person’s right to leave the country.
The issue concerns something else: whether the very fact of departure can create risks for the humanitarian case.
It is not about whether it is permitted to leave, but whether such an action — even a short-term one — can negatively influence how an IRCC officer will assess your integration, the consistency of your reasoning, or the credibility of your stated circumstances.
In other words, the question “can you leave?” means: will a temporary departure from Canada become a factor that weakens the applicant’s position in the eyes of IRCC.

Legislative Basis

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) provides that the Government of Canada may grant permanent resident status to a person who does not meet standard immigration requirements if there are humanitarian or compassionate grounds, including consideration of the best interests of children.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) detail the submission process, but in no way restrict the applicant’s right to leave Canada.
There is no clause or sub-clause indicating that an applicant who has submitted an H&C application must remain in the country until a decision is made.
Thus, there is no legislative prohibition on departure, and all related risks are practical rather than legal in nature.

IRCC Instructions and Document IP 5

The internal IRCC document IP 5 – “Immigrant Applications in Canada Made on Humanitarian or Compassionate Grounds” describes the procedure for considering applications submitted inside Canada (inland applications).
It lists the main criteria that an officer takes into account when making a decision:

1. Establishment and integration in Canada.
   How rooted the applicant is in the country: has housing, stable employment, participates in community life, obeys the law, pays taxes.
2. Social and family ties in Canada.
   Whether the applicant has family, friends, partners, or other permanent social contacts.
3. Best interests of the children.
   Whether remaining in Canada promotes the children’s well-being and how a refusal would affect them.
4. Factors in the country of origin.
   Safety, political or social situation, availability of housing and means of subsistence.
5. Health condition and need for treatment.
   Whether the applicant has illnesses whose treatment is impossible in the country of origin.
6. Facts of family violence or abuse.
   Whether there is a risk of violence in case of return.
7. Consequences of separation from relatives.
   How refusal and deportation would affect family members.
8. Inability to leave Canada that led to settlement.
   Whether the very stay in Canada created conditions for integration and stability.

None of these criteria contains any mention of mandatory presence in Canada or a prohibition on leaving during case processing.

Official IRCC Position on Leaving Canada

The only warning contained in official sources reads as follows:
If the applicant leaves Canada, there is no guarantee that they will be able to return.
The reason is that only citizens and permanent residents of Canada have the right to enter the country.
For all other foreign nationals, entry is a privilege that depends on the validity of a visa, status, and the decision of the border officer.
Therefore, leaving Canada is not a violation, but it carries the risk of being refused re-entry.
This risk is not related to the humanitarian application itself but to the technical conditions of the foreign national’s temporary status.

Departure, Program Criteria, and Absence of Duty to Notify IRCC

No legislative or administrative document provides for an obligation to notify IRCC about short-term departures from Canada or to send additional information after the application has been submitted.

• It is not necessary to write to the officer that you are temporarily leaving Canada, for example:
  “Dear Officer, I am going to Ukraine to treat my teeth or visit relatives.”
• It is not necessary to update the travel-history form after every trip, even if such a form was submitted.
• For most applicants who apply inland, this form is not mandatory at all.
• The form itself explicitly states that trips to the country of citizenship or country of permanent residence do not need to be listed.

Therefore, a short departure does not affect the processing of the application and does not require additional notification to IRCC.

When a Trip May Harm a Humanitarian Case

There is no prohibition on travel, even to Ukraine.
But if your reasoning in the application is built on claims of danger, lack of medical or housing conditions, or severed family ties, such a trip can significantly weaken the case.

Example:
The applicant states: “It is dangerous in Ukraine, I have no home, relatives, or friends, I have nowhere to return. Only in Canada can I receive proper treatment, because in Ukraine hospitals run on generators and have no doctors.”
And a few months later buys a ticket to Warsaw and then to Zaporizhzhia — “to treat my teeth, sell an apartment, and visit family.”

Such actions create vulnerability in the reasoning. The officer will reasonably ask:

• If Ukraine is dangerous, why did you return there voluntarily?
• If treatment there is impossible, why did you receive it there?
• If there is no family, whom did you visit?

Thus, it is not the trip itself that causes harm, but the contradiction between your words and actions.
That is why consultants usually advise not to visit the country of citizenship, so as not to create for the officer an impression of inconsistency or exaggeration of hardship.

Practical Immigration Practice

In real-world experience, lawyers and consultants have repeatedly seen IRCC approve humanitarian applications of individuals who temporarily left Canada during processing.
Such trips are not considered violations, and IRCC does not require any reporting or updating of information after submission of documents.
If departure truly had a negative effect, an official instruction about this would appear in the standard acknowledgment-of-receipt letter that every applicant receives after filing the application.
Since no such instruction exists, this confirms that short trips do not contradict the rules.

Potential Risks

The main risk lies in possible refusal of re-entry to Canada.
Such cases are rare but possible if:

• the visa has expired or status has lapsed;
• the border officer believes the person does not meet the requirements for temporary entry;
• the applicant previously violated conditions of stay.

Even if a person was not allowed to re-enter, this is not an automatic ground for refusal of the humanitarian application.
The IRCC officer evaluates the situation comprehensively:
why the person could not return, how long they were outside Canada, and whether their circumstances changed.

Recommendations

1. Check the validity of your status and visa before any trip.
   Without valid documents, return to Canada may be impossible.
2. Do not plan long business trips or vacations.
   A short absence is harmless, but a long one may call your integration into question.
3. Maintain logical consistency of your arguments.
   If your application cites danger or lack of medical services in your country, traveling there contradicts your own statements.
4. Do not notify IRCC without real necessity.
   Law and practice do not require constant updates about travels or changes in travel history.
5. Consult before traveling.
   If circumstances are complex (medical treatment, property sale, family reasons), it is worth obtaining advice from a lawyer or licensed consultant.

Conclusions

No law, regulation, or IRCC instruction prohibits leaving Canada while a humanitarian application is under review.
You may temporarily leave the country, provided you have valid status and a visa.
However, the main danger lies not in the trip itself but in the fact that it may contradict your humanitarian reasoning.
If you have described Ukraine as dangerous, lacking medical care and resources, and then travel there, this undermines the credibility of your case.
Therefore, you can leave — but with understanding and caution.
The H&C program is based on sincerity, consistency, and logic.
And if your actions contradict your words, it is precisely this — and not the mere fact of travel — that can become the decisive factor in the case.