Hundreds of Iranian families in limbo as Canada labels their mandatory military service ‘inadmissible’ | CBC News

CBC talked to dozens of former conscripts to Iran's Revolutionary Guards facing inadmissibility to Canada

Hundreds of Iranian families have received a letter from the federal immigration department stating they may be inadmissible to Canada. Time is running out for them to prove they are not members of a terrorist organization.  

“We chose Canada to live in a fair place, but now I realize there is no justice here,” Sanam Mohammadzadeh said.

The Windsor, Ont. resident is among the affected Iranian families in Canada who are concerned about their future here. Many are planning to stage a protest on Sept. 22 on Parliament Hill.

A Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL) from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is issued to an applicant when the IRCC officer has concerns about the application. CBC News reviewed approximately 50 such PFL letters issued on Aug. 6. They all used the same wording that an applicant is being considered “inadmissible” because of their prior conscription service.

Experts say all men in Iran, age 18 and older, must do mandatory service with one of the arms of the military, and many are assigned to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). In July 2024, the Canadian government listed IRGC as a terrorist organization under Criminal Code. Then-Justice Minister Arif Virani had shared concerns about the impact of the designation on the conscripts.

"If an individual was conscripted at one point in time and no longer serves with the IRGC, that would affect the analysis," he said in 2024.

Iranian Canadians say they are being punished with travel restrictions for being conscripted as young men

Mohammadzadeh is an award-winning post-doctoral fellow at the University of Windsor. Her husband, who works in auto manufacturing, received the letter for his IRGC conscription service, which happened in 2010. Mohammadzadeh said they immigrated to Canada because they were against the Iranian regime and IRGC, and they participated in many protests against the regime once here. Now, they fear their safety is at risk if they have to return.

The couple has been waiting for permanent residency approval since 2024, and are angry IRCC has labelled all conscripts as terrorists. Mohammadzadeh said if her husband’s past conscription was such an obstacle, why did the Canadian government allow them to come in the first place?

“I'm exactly the same person with the identical information I provided. Now suddenly, I'm a terrorist,” she said. “I feel so betrayed.” 

CBC News talked with more than 30 affected people across Canada in the past month, who all received PFLs on the same date, telling them they have 30 days to prove they are not active members of the IRGC. They say there are more than 400 families in limbo, and even after staging multiple protests across major Canadian cities and contacting local MPs, their efforts have been in vain.