A hand vacuum cleaner has an airflow path from an air inlet to a clean air outlet with an air treatment member and a fan and motor assembly in the air flow path. The hand vacuum cleaner has a dirt collection chamber that is external to and connected in flow communication with a cyclone chamber by a gap located between the perimeter of an end wall of the cyclone chamber and a sidewall of the cyclone chamber or the dirt collection chamber. The gap is located only at an upper portion of the plate and/or is larger at the upper portion of the plate.