What alternatives to detention exist besides paying a bond or cash deposit?

Bonds and cash deposits are only part of a broader set of tools used to manage risk without full detention. Other alternatives include release on conditions such as regular reporting to CBSA in person or by phone, a requirement to reside at a specific address, restrictions on travel or activities, and community-based supervision arrangements where an organization or program helps support and monitor someone in the community as an alternative to custody.

Electronic monitoring, such as a reporting device, is another tool that has been used in some cases as a way to allow release while still managing flight-risk or compliance concerns. The specific combination of conditions used depends on what risk the Immigration Division is trying to manage in a given case — a stronger identity or flight-risk concern generally leads to a more restrictive set of conditions than a milder one.

Because a well-prepared release plan, showing exactly how a specific alternative would actually address the risk identified, is often the deciding factor in whether detention continues, anyone facing a detention review should work with a lawyer to put together a concrete, realistic release plan tailored to their specific case, rather than relying on a bond amount alone.