Refugee claims before the Refugee Protection Division

Who qualifies for refugee protection

Canadian law protects two groups of people. A claim can succeed under either one, and a well-prepared claim addresses both.

Convention refugees (IRPA section 96)

You have a well-founded fear of persecution because of your race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, and you cannot or will not rely on your country’s protection. Social group claims cover, for example, gender-based violence and persecution because of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Persons in need of protection (IRPA section 97)

Returning would personally expose you to a danger of torture, a risk to your life, or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. The risk must be one you face personally, not one faced generally by everyone in the country, and it cannot arise only from a lack of adequate health care.

In both categories the Board will ask two further questions: could your government protect you if you asked for help, and is there another part of your country where you could live safely? Much of our preparation goes into answering those two questions with evidence.

Can you make a claim? The eligibility rules

Before a claim reaches the RPD, an officer decides whether it is eligible to be referred. A claim is not referred if, for example, you already have refugee protection in another country, you made an earlier claim in Canada that was refused, withdrawn or abandoned, or you are inadmissible on serious grounds such as security or serious criminality.

The Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States still applies. Most people arriving at a Canada–U.S. land border crossing cannot claim in Canada unless an exception applies, such as having a qualifying family member in Canada, being an unaccompanied minor, or holding certain Canadian documents.

How a claim moves now

Since November 3, 2026, all claims, whether made at an airport, at the border or from inside Canada, follow a single online process.

1. Make the claimStart online or with an officer at a port of entry. You attend an in-person appointment for an interview, fingerprints and photos, and you will be asked to complete an immigration medical exam.
2. Eligibility decisionAn officer decides whether the claim can be referred to the IRB. If it is ineligible, we look at what remains, usually a pre-removal risk assessment or a humanitarian application.
3. Complete the application within 60 daysOnce you are found eligible, you have 60 days to submit the completed application, including your Basis of Claim (BOC) account of what happened to you and why you fear return. One 30-day extension can be requested. Eligible claimants can apply for a work permit once the claim is complete.
4. Government reviewIRCC and the CBSA complete security, criminality and credibility checks before the claim is referred, and decide whether the Minister will take part in your hearing.
5. Referral and documentsAfter referral to the RPD, your personal documents (identity papers, police and medical reports, letters, photos) are due within 30 days. For claims referred between November 3, 2026 and January 3, 2027, a transitional 60-day period applies. Country condition evidence can be filed up to 10 days before the hearing. Represented claimants file through the IRB’s My Case portal.
6. Hearing and decisionA member of the RPD hears your testimony, usually with an interpreter, and decides the claim, often at the end of the hearing or later in writing.

Your Basis of Claim and hearing

The BOC is the foundation of your case. Members compare it against everything else you have told officials: your port-of-entry notes, visa applications, and your testimony. Small inconsistencies in dates or names can become credibility findings. We prepare it with you in your own language, line by line, and check it against your documents before it is filed. If your story changes or new facts come up later, changes must be filed on the prescribed form and explained.

At the hearing the member questions you, and counsel questions you too. Where the Minister intervenes, a Minister’s representative may also question you. Hearings are held in private, and what you say is not shared with your home government.

The IRB’s Chairperson’s Guidelines shape how claims are heard. They include guidelines on gender considerations, on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression (SOGIESC), on child claimants, and on procedural accommodation for vulnerable people, such as survivors of trauma. We ask for those accommodations where they apply, such as a member or interpreter of a particular gender, or questioning that takes trauma into account.

After the decision

• If your claim is accepted, you become a protected person and can apply for permanent residence for yourself and your family members.
• If your claim is refused, most claimants can appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division. The notice of appeal is due 15 days after you receive the written reasons. Where there is no RAD appeal, the remaining route is judicial review at the Federal Court.
• Protected status can later be challenged through cessation (for example, after renewing your home country’s passport or travelling back there) or vacation (for misrepresentation). Get advice before you travel.

How ATWORLD IMMIGRATION helps

• An eligibility review before you claim, including the one-year and 14-day rules and the Safe Third Country Agreement.
• Your BOC prepared in your own language: Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, Pashto, Bengali, Gujarati, Arabic or English.
• Evidence gathered and organized, including identity documents, witness letters, medical and psychological reports, and country conditions research.
• Hearing preparation sessions so you know what the member will ask and why.
• Representation at your RPD hearing, followed by your permanent residence application or an appeal.

Last reviewed November 2026. This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration law and IRB procedure change often; we confirm the current rules for your file at your consultation.