Refugee claims in Canada
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A refugee claim asks Canada for protection because you fear persecution or face a risk of torture, a risk to life or cruel and unusual treatment in your home country. It is for people in Canada or at a port of entry. The Immigration and Refugee Board decides eligible claims; some claims are ineligible from the start.
Who is eligible
- Convention refugee: a well-founded fear of persecution for race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion (IRPA s 96).
- Person in need of protection: a personal danger of torture, or a risk to life or of cruel and unusual treatment that isn’t faced generally by others (IRPA s 97(1)).
- A claim in Canada must be made in person to an officer and can’t be made by someone already under a removal order (IRPA s 99(3)).
- Ineligible claims include: a previous claim rejected by the Board; a claim made more than one year after entering Canada if you entered after June 24, 2020; and coming via a designated country such as the United States (IRPA s 101(1)).
Steps
- Make the claim at a port of entry or to an officer inside Canada.
- If you claim inside Canada (not at a port of entry), provide the required documents and information within the time limits in the regulations (IRPA s 99(3.1)).
- If eligible, the claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division of the IRB for a hearing.
Documents you’ll usually need
- Identity documents.
- Your account of what happened (the Basis of Claim form).
- Evidence supporting your fear or risk.
What the law says
“by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion”
Convention refugee definition.
“to a danger, believed on substantial grounds to exist, of torture within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture”
Person in need of protection.
“must be made in person to an officer, must not be made by a person who is subject to a removal order”
How a claim inside Canada is made.
“the claimant entered Canada after June 24, 2020 and made the claim more than one year after the day of their entry”
The one-year rule for claims by people who entered after June 24, 2020.
“the claimant came directly or indirectly to Canada from a country designated by the regulations”
Coming through a designated country (the Safe Third Country Agreement).
Official IRCC pages
Program rules not written in the statute, plus current fees and processing times, are on IRCC’s own pages:
- IRCC: Claim refugee protection from inside Canada
- Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada
- IRCC: Refugees and asylum
Common mistakes
- Waiting more than a year after entry to claim — the claim can be ineligible for the Board.
- Missing the document deadlines for in-Canada claims.
- Paying unlicensed representatives. Only lawyers, Quebec notaries and licensed consultants may charge for representation.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a time limit to make a refugee claim in Canada?
For people who entered after June 24, 2020, a claim made more than one year after entry is ineligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (IRPA s 101(1)(b.1)). A pre-removal risk assessment may still be possible.
Policy analysis
- Canada’s 2027–2029 Immigration Levels Plan: what changed, and what it means if you’re already here
The 2027–2029 plan holds permanent admissions at 380,000 a year and new temporary arrivals at 370,000, and adds a one-time 2027 measure for up to 200,000 people already in Canada.
Related streams
- Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) Check IRCC
An application for protection by someone facing removal, and the waiting periods that limit it.
- Humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications Check IRCC
Asking the Minister for permanent residence or an exemption on humanitarian grounds.
- Inadmissibility and record suspensions Check IRCC
The grounds that make someone inadmissible, and how rehabilitation or a record suspension can help.