Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada Dismisses Appeal for Undeclared Family Member

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has dismissed an appeal for a permanent resident visa due to the applicant being an undeclared family member. The appeal was submitted by Bridget Fudia KARIMU for her son, Theophilus Ernest GARBER, who was born in Sierra Leone and left with his father before KARIMU moved to Canada. The visa office refused the application due to concerns over the applicant's parentage and because KARIMU had not declared him during her own immigration process. The IAD has no authority to allow the appeal on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Key Takeaways:

• The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada dismissed an appeal for a permanent resident visa due to the applicant, Theophilus Ernest GARBER, being an undeclared family member.
• The appeal was submitted by Bridget Fudia KARIMU, who failed to declare GARBER during her own immigration process in 2008.
• The visa office refused the application due to concerns over GARBER's parentage and because KARIMU had not declared him during her own immigration process.
• The IAD has no authority to allow the appeal on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, despite the Appellant citing fear as a reason for not declaring GARBER.
• The Temporary Public Policy, which allowed for certain undeclared applicants to proceed, was not applicable in this case.
• The IAD has jurisdiction to hear appeals against visa decisions but not against Ministerial discretion.
• The Appellant's explanations for not declaring GARBER did not change the fact that she failed to do so, which excluded GARBER from being sponsored in the family class.
• The visa office correctly applied paragraph 117(9)(d) of the Regulations, which excludes non-accompanying family members not declared during the sponsor's immigration process.
• The IAD is required to apply paragraph 117(9)(d) to the facts of the case and uphold the visa office's decision.

Statistics:

• 2008: The year Bridget Fudia KARIMU immigrated to Canada as an accompanying dependent child in her brother's family sponsorship.
• 2015: The year KARIMU married Theophilus Garber in Sierra Leone and submitted a spousal sponsorship application.
• 2019: The year a Temporary Public Policy was authorized to exempt certain undeclared applicants.
• 2022: The year the Appellant and Theophilus Garber divorced.
• 2024: The year the Appellant submitted the current application to sponsor GARBER.
• March 31, 2025: The date the IAD issued the decision to dismiss the appeal.

Sources:

• Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Reasons for Decision, March 31, 2025.