Skip to main content
Last verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca← Back to IRPA ExplorerLast verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca
PART 1: Immigration to CanadaDIVISION 6: Detention and Release
§59

Incarcerated foreign nationals

Incarcerated foreign nationals

Detention
🍁 In Simple Terms

If you are being held under another federal law, such as serving a criminal sentence, and there is also an immigration warrant out for you, you do not walk out the front door at the end of it. The institution holding you has to hand you over to an immigration officer instead.

Affects: Persons subject to removal or detention
Legal Text: IRPA Section 59

59 If a warrant for arrest and detention under this Act is issued with respect to a permanent resident or a foreign national who is detained under another Act of Parliament in an institution, the person in charge of the institution shall deliver the inmate to an officer at the end of the inmate’s period of detention in the institution.

In Practice
Official Source: Justice Canada: IRPA s. 59 (authoritative, may differ from this display)
Explore More Sections
Browse all 296 sections of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Explore More Sections