Federal Court Reverses Refugee Status Revocation for Pakistani Ahmadi Who Made Multiple Returns to Pakistan

Irfan Ahmad, a Pakistani citizen and member of the Ahmadi Muslim community, arrived in Canada as a resettled refugee in 2014 under the Convention refugee abroad program. His claim was based on persecution in Pakistan due to his Ahmadi faith, where the community faces legal discrimination under Ordinance XX, blasphemy laws, targeted violence, and inadequate state protection. After receiving protected status in Canada, Ahmad obtained two new Pakistani passports through the Pakistani Consulate in Toronto, one issued on October 19, 2015, and another on December 8, 2020. Between January 2016 and March 2022, he traveled back to Pakistan six times and spent a total of 336 days there. These visits included attending a large wedding with nearly 100 guests, his own marriage, the birth of his child, attending to his parents' illnesses, and funerals.

The Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board initiated cessation proceedings against Irfan Ahmad. The division argued that his repeated returns to Pakistan, the cumulative 336 days spent there, and the acquisition of new passports demonstrated that he had voluntarily reavailed himself of his home country's protection and no longer genuinely feared persecution. In 2025, the Refugee Protection Division revoked his refugee status on those grounds.

Irfan Ahmad appealed the revocation to the Federal Court of Canada. On February 26, 2026, Justice Avvy Go ruled in Ahmad v Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2026 FC 227, that the Refugee Protection Division's decision was unreasonable. The court determined that the division failed to properly assess compelling family reasons for the travel, the precautions Ahmad took during his visits such as hiding his Ahmadi identity, avoiding public religious practice, limiting outings, and staying in secure family locations in Rabwah, and the continued nationwide lack of adequate protection for Ahmadis in Pakistan. The court also found that the division overlooked evidence rebutting the presumption of intent to reavail and misidentified inconsistencies in his testimony. Justice Avvy Go set aside the cessation order and remitted the matter back to the Refugee Protection Division for a proper redetermination.

As of late February 2026, no final decision from the rehearing at the Refugee Protection Division has been publicly reported. The case has generated significant criticism on social media, particularly on X, where users including Salman Sima have pointed to the six returns, the 336 days spent in Pakistan, and the passport renewals as clear signs of abuse of Canada's refugee system. Several commenters who previously supported refugee programs have stated that cases like this are eroding public trust and fueling demands for stricter oversight and reform.