What is the difference between the notice of appeal and the appellant's record at the RAD?
Short answer
In Canada, a notice of appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division is filed within 15 days after receiving the written reasons, while the appellant's record — which contains the documents and the arguments — is filed within 30 days after that same receipt (s. 159.91 of the Regulations).
In detail
The Regulations treat these two steps separately and give each its own deadline, both calculated from the same starting point: receipt of the written reasons for the Refugee Protection Division's decision.
The notice of appeal is the step that signals an intention to appeal the decision. The appellant's record is the perfecting step: that is where the supporting documents and the argument are found.
Because the two periods run in parallel, the time actually available to prepare the record is the same period that has been running since the reasons were received — not a fresh period starting once the notice is filed.
What to document
Two dates to note as soon as you receive the reasons: the 15th day and the 30th day. Then an inventory of each document you plan to file, with the date you obtained it — useful if a document arrives late.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
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Official sources
Related questions
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- How many days do I have to spend in Canada to keep my permanent residence?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.