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Refugees are persons who fear for their lives or safety in their home country, where the authorities of their home country are unable to provide them with effective protection. Canada has a long-standing humanitarian tradition of providing surrogate protection to refugees. Those found by the immigration authorities to be refugees may apply for permanent residence in Canada. There are several ways to apply for refugee status, some of which require the applicant to be in Canada at the time of the application, and some which allow refugee applications from abroad.
The main types of refugee applications are as follows:
- Refugee claims made in Canada
- Pre-Removal Risk Assessment
- Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications
- Sponsored refugees
- Refugees Abroad
A. Refugee claims made in Canada
Persons who are in Canada may apply for refugee status. A special tribunal, the Immigration and Refugee Board, will conduct a hearing to determine whether the claimant is in need of refugee protection based on definitions contained in the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). These definitions are derived from the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the United Nations Convention Against Torture, and from the Canadian definition of "risk to life or of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment".
The definition of Convention refugee is described in s. 96 of the IRPA as follows:
A Convention refugee is a person who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,(a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of each of those countries, or
(b) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.
The other consolidated grounds describing persons in need of protection are defined in section 97 of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act as follows:
A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their country or countries of nationality or, if they do not have a country of nationality, their country of former habitual residence, would subject them personally(a) to a danger, believed on substantial grounds to exist, of torture within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture; or
(b) to a risk to their life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment...
A person who claims refugee protection in Canada may therefore present their case on one or more of three bases for refugee protection: (1) that they face persecution in their home country on one of five listed grounds in the refugee Convention, (2) that they face a risk of torture in their home country, (3) that they face a risk to their life or of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment in their home country.
The process of claiming refugee status in Canada begins by making a refugee claim either upon entry into Canada or at a later date after already entering Canada. Claimants will be provided with an opportunity to attend a hearing at the Immigration and Refugee Board where they will personally present their case to a Board Member who will decide whether or not to grant them refugee protection.
A successful refugee claimant will be one who has satisfied a Board Member at the Immigration and Refugee Board that he or she falls within the definitions of s. 96 and/or s. 97 of the IRPA, and otherwise satisfies the requirements of the law. A refugee claimant who is found to be in need of refugee protection in Canada may apply for permanent residence so they can remain in Canada permanently.
If you are considering making a refugee claim in Canada, please contact us for further information.
B. Pre-Removal Risk Assessment
Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is a type of application that is made available to persons in Canada who are under a removal order, where they believe that they may be at risk to their lives or safety if returned to their home country. The PRRA is similar to a refugee claim in that the grounds considered in making the assessment are the definition of Convention refugee, risk of torture, and risk to life or of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. The main difference between a PRRA and a refugee claim is that under the PRRA there is no right to a hearing, since it is intended to be an expedited process. The applicant must therefore ensure that the application is properly documented and all legal submissions in support of the case are provided in writing. Persons who are found to be at risk under this category may apply for permanent residence in Canada.
If you are interested in making a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment application, please contact us for further information.
C. Humanitarian & Compassionate Application
A Humanitarian and Compassionate application (H&C) is a type of in-Canada application for permanent residence. It is intended for persons who cannot return to their home country to apply for immigration through the standard categories because to do so would cause them unusual, undeserved and disproportionate hardship. The H&C is therefore an exception category that can be used in a broad range of situations. It is not, strictly speaking, a type of refugee application, although risk to a person's life or safety is one of the factors that may be considered in an H&C. Examples of common fact situations where H&C applications may be made include in-land family sponsorships, or applications by long-term illegals to regularize their status. Thus, H&C applications are a flexible and useful type of application for persons who might not qualify under the regular categories of the immigration and refugee system.
If you are interested in making an H & C application, please contact us for further information.
Organizations and groups of Canadian citizens can sponsor refugees from abroad. These sponsors commit to providing the necessities of life, such as food and housing, for the sponsored refugee for a period of one year after they arrive in Canada. There are three types of eligible sponsors: (1) organizations who have signed sponsorship agreements with the Canadian government, (2) groups of five Canadian citizens or permanent residents who join together to sponsor a refugee, (3) community sponsors, which are community organizations who have the necessary finances to act as a sponsor. In all cases the sponsors must first obtain approval from Citizenship and Immigration Canada before they may act as sponsors.
If you are in Canada and are interested in sponsoring a refugee from abroad, please contact us for further information.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada selects refugee applications from abroad in certain circumstances. Every year, the Canadian government on its own initiative resettles thousands of refugees in Canada from abroad. It is also possible for a refugee to make an application for refugee status in Canada if they have fled their home country and are living in another country, other than Canada, where they continue to be in a situation of serious danger. In addition, there are several designated "source countries" where people who are citizens of that country and are in serious danger to their lives or safety may apply directly to a Canadian embassy or consulate for refugee status.
If you are interested in the Refugees Abroad programs, please contact us for further information.
Disclaimer: the information included on this website is intended to be of a general nature and does not constitute legal advice.