OpenVisaPrevious overstay or refusal: do I need an ARC, and how do I disclose it?
Officers check records. Forms are where you get ahead of them.
An Authorization to Return to Canada (ARC) is needed only when a removal order was issued, and the kind of order decides it. Either way, the history goes on the forms; leaving it out is what creates a 5-year bar.
1. Do I need an Authorization to Return (ARC)?
Only if a removal order was issued, and it depends on the kind:
- Departure order (IRPR s.224): if you left within 30 days and confirmed your departure with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), no ARC is needed. If you didn't, it became a deportation order.
- Exclusion order (IRPR s.225): an ARC is needed to return within the exclusion period (usually 1 year; 5 years for misrepresentation).
- Deportation order (IRPR s.226): an ARC is always needed.
Someone who overstayed and left on their own, with no order ever issued, is not in any of these categories and doesn't need an ARC.
2. How do I disclose it?
Schedule A (IMM 5669) asks whether you've ever been refused a visa or permit, refused admission, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country. Answer yes where it's true and give the details asked for, with a letter of explanation that sets out the dates and attaches the documents. An overstay with no order is still part of your history, and it will be in CBSA's records.
3. What happens if it's left off the form?
Leaving out a refusal or an order is misrepresentation, and the penalty is not about the original event:
A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation … 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.
The finding carries a 5-year bar. A disclosed overstay is a question to answer; an undisclosed one is a 5-year problem.
4. Who can advise on a removal order or misrepresentation?
This page describes the rules. For a removal order, a misrepresentation finding or criminality, IRCC's representatives page lists who may give advice.
OpenVisa is software, not a lawyer or RCIC. This page explains what the rules and forms say; it is not advice about your case. You submit your application yourself.