Too sick to travel: deferring removal from Canada on medical grounds

By Sundeep S. Grewal, lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation · Reviewed November 12, 2026

Published November 13, 2026

Sundeep S. Grewal is a lawyer at Lawgical Law Corporation, called to the BC bar in 2018, and a member of the Law Society of British Columbia.

Updated November 12, 2026: IRPA s. 48, the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision in Baron, and IRPA s. 25(1.21) checked that day.

When someone facing removal is seriously ill, the questions are practical and legal at once: can they physically travel, will treatment be interrupted, and is care available in the country they are being sent to? CBSA’s power to put off a removal includes factors that affect travel arrangements, and a serious illness is one of them. But the law treats a medical deferral as temporary: it lasts while the reason lasts. For a lasting answer, the health issue usually has to be raised in an H&C application, and in some cases in a Federal Court stay motion.

Lawgical Law Corporation, an immigration law firm in Surrey, Abbotsford and Vancouver, BC, brings medical deferral requests, H&C applications and Federal Court stays; this guide is by Sundeep S. Grewal.

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What CBSA can consider

Under section 48, removal must happen as soon as possible, but a removals officer has some discretion over timing. The list adopted by the Federal Court of Appeal in Baron v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2009 FCA 81 from Wang v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2001 FCT 148, [2001] 3 FC 682 includes “factors related to making effective travel arrangements”. Being unfit to travel, or being in the middle of treatment that cannot safely stop, fits there. What it doesn’t do is cancel the removal; it moves the date.

What the medical evidence should say

CBSA may arrange its own medical assessment or travel with medical support. A letter that only says a person is “unwell” is rarely enough.

When the problem is longer-term

If the issue is that care isn’t available in the country of removal, that is mainly an H&C question. Even during the 12-month bar after a refused refugee claim, an H&C can still be made if removal would subject you to a risk to your life caused by your country’s inability to provide adequate health or medical care (IRPA s. 25(1.21)). A pending H&C does not stop removal on its own; see removal while an H&C is pending.

If CBSA refuses

A refusal to defer can be challenged in the Federal Court with a stay motion. The judge applies the three-part test in Toth v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) (1988), 86 N.R. 302 (FCA). Serious medical harm that can’t be undone is the kind of evidence the irreparable harm part of the test looks for. See a stay after a PRRA or deferral refusal.

Why this needs a lawyer

One lawyer, one file, every step:

• getting the right medical evidence from your treating doctors, framed around fitness to travel;
• writing the deferral request and following up as the condition changes;
• preparing an H&C where the issue is lack of care abroad;
• bringing a Federal Court stay motion if CBSA refuses.

Medical deferrals are won on the quality of the evidence and how precisely it answers CBSA’s questions. A lawyer also plans for what happens when the deferral period ends.

Immigration lawyers are members of a provincial law society (in our case, the Law Society of British Columbia), and only a lawyer can bring a motion to stay a removal in the Federal Court. An immigration consultant cannot file or argue it there.

Mistakes I have seen

• Sending a short note from a walk-in clinic instead of the doctor treating the condition.
• Not saying how long the deferral is needed.
• Treating a medical deferral as a permanent solution.
• Waiting until the removal date to raise a condition known for months.

Frequently asked questions

Can CBSA remove me if I am in hospital?

CBSA generally won’t remove someone medically unfit to travel, but it may reassess and set a new date when you are fit.

Does it matter which doctor writes the letter?

A letter from the doctor treating the condition carries the most weight.

Does a medical deferral fix my immigration status?

No. It only delays removal. Status needs a separate application, such as an H&C.

Related guides: removal while an H&C is pending, humanitarian and compassionate applications, a stay after a PRRA or deferral refusal, CBSA enforcement interviews.

What should I do right now?

Ask your treating doctor for a dated letter on your diagnosis, treatment, fitness to travel and expected timeline, and get advice on a deferral request before your removal date.

Book a consultation with our immigration lawyers in Surrey, Abbotsford or Vancouver, or online from anywhere.

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Sources (official)

• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 48
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 25(1.2) and (1.21)
• CBSA: Enforcing removals from Canada (modified October 5, 2026)
• Baron v. Canada (Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness), 2009 FCA 81
• Wang v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), 2001 FCT 148, [2001] 3 FC 682
• Toth v. Canada (Minister of Employment and Immigration) (1988), 86 N.R. 302 (FCA)

This article is general information, not legal advice. Every case depends on its own facts.