Short answer: a section 44 report is a written report by an immigration or border officer setting out the officer’s opinion that you are inadmissible to Canada, along with the facts behind that opinion. It is not a criminal charge, it is not a court decision, and it is not a removal order. Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) s.44(1), an officer who is of the opinion that a permanent resident or a foreign national who is in Canada is inadmissible "may prepare a report setting out the relevant facts, which report shall be transmitted to the Minister." What happens next is set out in s.44(2): if the Minister is of the opinion that the report is well founded, the report may be referred to the Immigration Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board for an admissibility hearing, and in circumstances prescribed by the Regulations a removal order may be made instead. In practice the review under s.44(2) is carried out by a delegated officer, commonly called the Minister’s delegate. This guide explains each stage in plain language, where permanent residents and foreign nationals are treated differently, and why this is one of the situations where licensed legal help matters most.
This topic warrants licensed help
A section 44 report can lead to the loss of permanent resident status and to removal from Canada. This page explains the published law so you can follow what is happening; it does not tell you what to do in your case, and it cannot. Under IRPA s.91, only a lawyer or notary in good standing with a provincial law society or the Chambre des notaires du Quebec, another member in good standing of a law society including a paralegal, or a member in good standing of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants may represent or advise you for a fee in connection with a proceeding under the Act. If a report has been written against you, speak with one of them.
Check whether a representative is authorizedAn officer who is of the opinion that a permanent resident or a foreign national who is in Canada is inadmissible may prepare a report setting out the relevant facts, which report shall be transmitted to the Minister.Read IRPA s.44 in full
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Start Free ExplorerThe Three Stages of a Section 44 Report
Section 44 sets out a sequence, not a single decision. An officer forms an opinion and writes a report, a delegated officer reviews that report, and then either the Immigration Division holds an admissibility hearing or a removal order is made in the circumstances the Regulations allow. Each stage has a different decision maker and a different legal test. Knowing which stage you are at is the single most useful thing to establish, because it determines what can happen next.
Stage 1: An officer writes the report (IRPA s.44(1))
The trigger is an officer’s opinion. The Act says an officer who is of the opinion that a permanent resident or a foreign national in Canada is inadmissible "may prepare a report setting out the relevant facts." The report records the officer’s opinion and the facts supporting it. It is not a finding by a judge or a tribunal, and nothing in s.44(1) requires a hearing before it is written. Reports are prepared by officers designated under the Act, in practice officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
What this means for you: the word "may" matters. Writing a report is discretionary, not automatic, and the officer may decide not to write one. IRCC publishes its operational guidance for officers on this step in the enforcement manual ENF 5, Writing 44(1) Reports. Once a report is written, s.44(1) provides that it "shall be transmitted to the Minister," which moves the file to stage 2.
Stage 2: A delegated officer reviews the report (IRPA s.44(2))
Section 44(2) provides that if the Minister is of the opinion that the report is well founded, the Minister may refer the report to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing, with two carve-outs: a permanent resident who is inadmissible solely for failing to meet the residency obligation under s.28, and a foreign national in the circumstances prescribed by the Regulations. In those cases, the Minister may make a removal order. This review is delegated in practice, and the reviewing officer is generally referred to as the Minister’s delegate. IRCC publishes its guidance for this step in ENF 6, Review of reports under subsection A44(2).
Two features of the wording matter. First, the test is whether the report is "well-founded," which is a review of the report rather than a fresh hearing. Second, the section says the Minister "may" refer, so the statute does not compel a referral in every case. Exactly how the delegate exercises that discretion, and what information the delegate may consider or invite, is a matter of published departmental guidance and of administrative law, not of the words of s.44 itself, so this is a point on which a licensed representative can tell you far more than any web page.
Stage 3: An admissibility hearing, or a removal order
If the report is referred, the Immigration Division holds an admissibility hearing. IRPA s.45 sets out what the Division may decide. It may recognize the right to enter Canada of a citizen, a person registered under the Indian Act, or a permanent resident; it may grant status to a foreign national who meets the requirements of the Act; it may authorize entry for further examination; or it may "make the applicable removal order." Under IRPA s.167(1), a person who is the subject of proceedings before any Division of the Board may, at their own expense, be represented by legal or other counsel.
Where the Regulations allow the Minister to decide instead, no hearing is held. IRPR s.228 lists those prescribed circumstances and fixes the type of order that follows. For example, where the report is only about criminality or serious criminality based on a conviction in Canada (IRPA s.36(1)(a) or (2)(a)), the order is a deportation order; several failures to comply with the Act under s.41 lead to an exclusion order; and a permanent resident reported only for failing the residency obligation receives a departure order. Where the Immigration Division makes the order, IRPR s.229 sets out which type applies to which ground. The three order types have very different consequences for coming back.
Removal orders and coming back to CanadaWhat Happens After a Report Is Written
The sequence below is the statutory path. Timing varies widely, and an officer, a delegate, or the Immigration Division may act on a file at different speeds depending on the ground and the circumstances.
- 1The report is transmitted to the Minister: IRPA s.44(1) provides that a report prepared by an officer shall be transmitted to the Minister. The report sets out the relevant facts and the inadmissibility ground the officer believes applies.
- 2A delegated officer reviews it: Under s.44(2) the question is whether the report is well founded. The reviewing officer is generally the Minister’s delegate, and IRCC’s published guidance for this step is ENF 6, Review of reports under subsection A44(2).
- 3Referral, or a removal order in prescribed circumstances: A well-founded report may be referred to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing. For a permanent resident reported solely under the s.28 residency obligation, and for a foreign national in the circumstances prescribed by IRPR s.228, a removal order may be made instead of a referral.
- 4The admissibility hearing: If the case is referred, the Immigration Division decides under IRPA s.45. You may be represented by legal or other counsel at your own expense under IRPA s.167(1). Conditions may be imposed on a person who is the subject of a report or a hearing under IRPA s.44(3).
- 5If a removal order is made: The order type follows IRPR s.228 or s.229. A removal order is enforceable once it has come into force and is not stayed (IRPA s.48(1)), and a permanent resident loses that status when a removal order made against them comes into force (IRPA s.46(1)(c)). Appeal rights, where they exist, are in IRPA s.63 and are limited by s.64.
What a Section 44 Report Is Not
A lot of the fear around these reports comes from what people assume they mean. Here is what the statute does not say:
Not a conviction
A report is an administrative document about admissibility. It does not charge you with a crime, and no court has made a finding against you because a report exists.
Not a removal order
A removal order is made later, either by the Immigration Division under IRPA s.45 or by the Minister in the circumstances prescribed by IRPR s.228. A report is the step that can lead there.
Not automatically the end
Section 44(2) says the Minister "may" refer a well-founded report. The statute does not require that every report proceed, and the exercise of that discretion is a real stage of the process.
Not an immediate loss of status
A permanent resident loses status when a removal order made against them comes into force (IRPA s.46(1)(c)), not when a report is written.
Not a decision by a judge
The officer and the Minister’s delegate are administrative decision makers. The Immigration Division is a tribunal, not a criminal court, and its hearing is about admissibility under IRPA.
Not the same as being refused entry
Being turned around at a port of entry, allowed to withdraw an application to enter, or refused a visa are different outcomes with different consequences from a s.44 report.
Because the stages carry different rights and different deadlines, and because the record built at an early stage can follow the file, this is a topic where general information runs out quickly. A licensed Canadian immigration lawyer or a consultant regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants can review the actual report and advise on your options. This guide is education, not advice.
Permanent Residents and Foreign Nationals Are Treated Differently
Section 44 applies to both permanent residents and foreign nationals, but the route the file takes and the appeal rights at the end are not the same.
Permanent residents
- ✓ A well-founded report is generally referred to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing. The one exception in s.44(2) is a permanent resident who is inadmissible solely for failing to meet the residency obligation under s.28, where the Minister may make the removal order.
- ✓ For that residency-obligation case, IRPR s.228(2) provides that the order made is a departure order, which is the least restrictive of the three removal order types.
- ✓ A permanent resident or a protected person may appeal a removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division under IRPA s.63(3), whether the order was made under s.44(2) or at an admissibility hearing.
- ✓ That appeal right is removed by IRPA s.64 where the person is found inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, sanctions, serious criminality, or organized criminality. For s.64, serious criminality means a crime punished in Canada by a term of imprisonment of at least six months, or an offence described in IRPA s.36(1)(b) or (c).
- ✓ Status itself continues until a removal order comes into force (IRPA s.46(1)(c)).
Foreign nationals
- ✓ Section 44(2) allows a removal order to be made without an admissibility hearing in the circumstances prescribed by the Regulations, and IRPR s.228 sets out that list. Many common grounds sit on that list, so a hearing is not the default for every foreign national.
- ✓ IRPR s.228(1) also fixes the order type. Criminality or serious criminality based on a conviction in Canada leads to a deportation order, misrepresentation under IRPA s.40(1)(c) leads to a deportation order, and several failures to comply with the Act under s.41 lead to an exclusion order.
- ✓ A foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa may appeal a removal order to the Immigration Appeal Division under IRPA s.63(2). Other foreign nationals generally have no appeal to that Division, though other legal avenues may exist and a licensed representative can explain them.
- ✓ Conditions, including a deposit or a guarantee, may be imposed on a person who is the subject of a report, a hearing, or a removal order under IRPA s.44(3).
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What is a section 44 report?+
It is a written report prepared by an immigration or border officer under IRPA s.44(1) setting out the officer’s opinion that a permanent resident or a foreign national in Canada is inadmissible, together with the relevant facts. The Act provides that the report shall be transmitted to the Minister. It is an administrative step in the inadmissibility process, not a criminal charge and not a removal order.
Does a section 44 report mean deportation?+
No, not by itself. A report is the first stage. Under IRPA s.44(2), a report that the Minister considers well founded may be referred to the Immigration Division for an admissibility hearing, or in the circumstances prescribed by IRPR s.228 a removal order may be made instead. The word the statute uses is "may," so a report does not automatically produce a removal order, and where a removal order is made it may be a departure, exclusion, or deportation order depending on the ground.
Can I respond to a section 44 report?+
Section 44 itself does not set out a submissions procedure, so the honest answer is that it depends on the stage and on the officer. An officer may interview you or ask for information before or while a report is written, and IRCC publishes operational guidance for officers on these steps in ENF 5 and ENF 6. At an admissibility hearing before the Immigration Division you may be represented by legal or other counsel at your own expense under IRPA s.167(1). Because what you can usefully put forward, and when, is fact-specific, this is the point to consult a licensed immigration lawyer or a College-regulated consultant.
Who writes a section 44 report?+
An officer designated under IRPA. In practice these are officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The report is then transmitted to the Minister, and the review under s.44(2) is carried out by a delegated officer generally referred to as the Minister’s delegate.
What is the difference between a section 44 report and a removal order?+
A report is an officer’s opinion that you are inadmissible, with the facts that support it. A removal order is a decision that you must leave Canada, made either by the Immigration Division at an admissibility hearing under IRPA s.45 or by the Minister in the circumstances prescribed by IRPR s.228. A removal order is enforceable once it has come into force and is not stayed (IRPA s.48(1)); a report has no such effect.
Do permanent residents always get an admissibility hearing?+
Generally the report is referred to the Immigration Division, and s.44(2) contains one exception for permanent residents: where the person is inadmissible solely for failing to meet the residency obligation under IRPA s.28, the Minister may make the removal order directly, and IRPR s.228(2) provides that the order is a departure order. Permanent residents and protected persons also have an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division under IRPA s.63(3), unless that appeal is barred by IRPA s.64.
Important: this guide is based on the published text of IRPA and IRPR and on IRCC’s published enforcement manuals. Section 44 proceedings can end in the loss of status and removal from Canada, and the outcome depends on facts this page cannot see. Consult a licensed Canadian immigration lawyer or a consultant regulated by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants before taking any step. Not legal advice.
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This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.