Why can't I file an H&C application while my refugee claim is still being decided?

Generally, someone with a refugee claim actively pending before the Refugee Protection Division is not eligible to also have an H&C application considered at the same time, on the basis that the refugee process is already providing a route to assess protection-related concerns, and running the two in parallel would duplicate that assessment and could create conflicting outcomes on overlapping facts.

This bar is tied specifically to having an active, undecided claim — once the claim is finally decided, whether granted, refused, withdrawn, or abandoned, the bar on filing or having an H&C application considered generally falls away, and an H&C application becomes available again if the person still wishes to pursue one. The two processes are meant to be sequential in that sense rather than simultaneous.

Because the exact timing of when an H&C application can be filed or considered depends on the specific status of the refugee claim, and because some hardship-related evidence prepared for one process can also be relevant to the other later, anyone considering both routes should get legal advice about sequencing them properly, rather than assuming they can or must run at the same time.