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Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

s. 40 Misrepresentation

  • PART 1: Immigration to Canada
  • DIVISION 4: Inadmissibility
  • Inadmissibility

Last verified: June 2026 Β· Source: justice.gc.ca

The law says

IRPA s. 40
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(1)A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation

  • (a)for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;
  • (b)for being or having been sponsored by a person who is determined to be inadmissible for misrepresentation;
  • (c)on a final determination to vacate a decision to allow their claim for refugee protection or application for protection; or
  • (d)on ceasing to be a citizen under
  • (i)paragraph 10(1)(a) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before the coming into force of section 8 of the Strengthening Canadian Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in subsection 10(2) of the Citizenship Act, as it read immediately before that coming into force,
  • (ii)subsection 10(1) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act, or
  • (iii)subsection 10.1(3) of the Citizenship Act, in the circumstances set out in section 10.2 of that Act.

Application

(2)The following provisions govern subsection (1):

  • (a)the permanent resident or the foreign national continues to be inadmissible for misrepresentation for a period of five years following, in the case of a determination outside Canada, a final determination of inadmissibility under subsection (1) or, in the case of a determination in Canada, the date the removal order is enforced; and
  • (b)paragraph (1)(b) does not apply unless the Minister is satisfied that the facts of the case justify the inadmissibility.

Inadmissible

(3)A foreign national who is inadmissible under this section may not apply for permanent resident status during the period referred to in paragraph (2)(a).

Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.

Sections numbered under s. 40

Each of these is its own section of the Act, numbered after section 40.

IRPA s. 40.1

Cessation of refugee protection β€” foreign national

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What that means

A final decision by a tribunal that your refugee protection has ended can, by itself, make you inadmissible. That means not allowed to enter or stay. For a permanent resident, this applies only where the protection ended because of something they did. One example is choosing to rely on their home country's protection again, such as by taking up its passport (s.108(1)(a)). Taking back that nationality, gaining a new one that protects them, or choosing to resettle in the country they fled also counts. If protection ended only because conditions back home improved, a permanent resident is not inadmissible on this ground.

The law says

(1)A foreign national is inadmissible on a final determination under subsection 108(2) that their refugee protection has ceased.

Cessation of refugee protection β€” permanent resident

(2)A permanent resident is inadmissible on a final determination that their refugee protection has ceased for any of the reasons described in paragraphs 108(1)(a) to (d).