Who can apply for refugee protection in Canada?

If you think you will be persecuted if you return to your motherland, you can seek protection from Canada as a convention refugee or a person in need of protection. Applications for refugee protection must be made at the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Office or the Canadian port of entry.

Convention refugees

The so-called convention refugees refer to those who are unable to go back outside the motherland or the country where they often live because of well-founded fears or some persecution reasons. These persecutions are based on: race; Religion;

Political views;

Nation; or

Members of special social organizations, such as people with special orientations.

People in need of protection

The so-called people who need protection refer to those who are afraid to return to their own country or country of habitual residence for some reason. These reasons are:

In danger of being tortured;

Life-threatening; or

Risk of torture and abnormal treatment or punishment.

A person who does not meet the requirements

Some people cannot apply for refugee protection in Canada. You cannot apply if you:

Has been accepted as a convention refugee by another country, and some countries can return;

Obtaining the status of "person in need of protection" according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or its regulations, but automatically renouncing the protection status;

Coming to Canada directly or indirectly from the United States is bound by the Third Country Security Agreement;

Do not meet the conditions for entering Canada because of security, crime or human rights violations;

The previous application for refugee protection was rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board;

I applied, but I gave up or withdrew my application.

Safe third country agreement

According to the agreement reached with the United States, refugee applicants must apply for asylum (protection) in the first safe country they arrive in. For example, if you enter Canada from the United States, you cannot apply for refugee protection in Canada, but there are exceptions (such as people who already have families in Canada).

Immigration and Refugee Canada

If you meet the requirements for a refugee application, your application will be transferred to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Immigration and Refugee Board is an independent organization in Canada, which decides immigration and refugee affairs.