Important: our firm does not handle refugee claimant cases.
Rosenblatt Immigration Lawyers does not prepare or represent asylum claims before the Refugee Protection Division or refugee appeals before the Refugee Appeal Division. This page is general information only. If you may need protection, obtain advice immediately from a lawyer or licensed representative whose practice includes refugee claims. Delay can affect eligibility, evidence and removal risk.
Refugee claims made in Canada
Eligibility comes before the merits of the claim.
An immigration or border officer first decides whether a claim is eligible to be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board. Only an eligible claim proceeds to the Refugee Protection Division for a decision on whether the person needs protection.
A claimant must then prove that they are a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection. A desire for better employment, education or living conditions is not enough.
Fear of persecution
The claimant must show a well-founded fear of persecution connected to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, and that effective state protection or a safe internal alternative is not reasonably available.
Serious personal risk
The claimant must show that removal would personally expose them to torture, a risk to life, or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment, subject to the statutory limits and exclusions.
New law now in force
The one-year rule is an eligibility bar—not a waiting period.
For claims made on or after June 3, 2025, a claim made more than one year after the person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020 is ineligible for referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board.
The clock starts at first entry
The rule looks to the first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020—not the most recent return and not the date temporary status expires.
Travel does not restart the clock
Leaving Canada and returning does not create a new one-year period. Complete travel records and exact dates are essential.
Claims from June 3, 2025
The bar applies to claims made on or after June 3, 2025, even where the relevant first entry occurred years earlier.
Unaccompanied minors are exempt
IRCC states that unaccompanied minors are exempt from the new one-year and 14-day eligibility rules. Other eligibility requirements still apply.
“I have been in Canada for one year” is not the complete test.
The first entry after June 24, 2020 and the date the claim is made control. Someone may be ineligible even after leaving Canada and returning.
Other major eligibility rules
A genuine fear of return does not automatically guarantee an IRB hearing.
Irregular Canada–U.S. land entry
A claim made more than 14 days after entering between official ports along the Canada–U.S. land border is not referred to the IRB. The separate Safe Third Country rules may apply during the first 14 days.
Safe Third Country Agreement
Many people arriving from the United States at the land border—or claiming within 14 days after irregular land entry—are returned to the United States unless a specific statutory exception or exemption applies.
Previous claims or protection
Eligibility may be lost because of a previous claim in Canada, a claim in another information-sharing country, protected-person status in Canada, or recognition as a refugee by another country to which the person can return.
Inadmissibility and removal history
Security concerns, human-rights violations, serious criminality and an existing removal order can make a claim ineligible. The precise statutory ground matters.
The refugee claim process
An eligible claim becomes an evidence-based hearing.
Make the claim
A claim may be initiated from inside Canada through the prescribed online process or with CBSA at a port of entry.
Eligibility screening
IRCC or CBSA reviews identity, entry history, prior claims, criminality, security issues and statutory eligibility.
Referral and disclosure
If eligible, the claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division. The claimant must provide complete forms, evidence and timely updates.
RPD hearing
The decision-maker considers credibility, documents, country evidence, state protection, internal flight alternatives and legal exclusions.
Decision
Acceptance creates protected-person status. A refusal may lead to a Refugee Appeal Division appeal or Federal Court review where legally available.
Evidence and consistency are critical.
Identity and travel documents, a detailed chronology, proof of threats or harm, police and medical records, communications, witness evidence and reliable country information should be preserved. Inaccuracies, omissions and delay can damage credibility and may create separate immigration consequences.
Act quickly
Do not use a refugee claim as a substitute for an immigration pathway.
Asylum is for people who need protection from persecution or serious harm. It is not a route for someone who simply wants to remain in Canada for work, education or a better quality of life. A rejected or ineligible claim can lead to enforcement and removal. Anyone who may genuinely need protection should obtain specialized refugee advice without delay.
Protected-person permanent residence
Acceptance of a claim is not the final PR application.
A person in Canada whom the IRB or IRCC has recognized as a protected person or Convention refugee may apply for permanent residence. The PR application is a separate process involving forms, fees, identity documents, family declarations and admissibility screening.
Spouses, partners and dependent children must be declared, whether accompanying or not. Undeclared or unexamined family members can create serious future sponsorship problems. Criminality, security concerns, identity issues and document gaps may delay or prevent approval.
Refugee resettlement from outside Canada
Resettlement is different from making an asylum claim in Canada.
People abroad generally cannot choose Canada and submit a government-assisted refugee application on their own. Referral, sponsorship, eligibility and admissibility requirements depend on the resettlement program.
Government-Assisted Refugees
Refugees are generally referred by the United Nations Refugee Agency or another designated referral organization. The federal government provides reception and income support, usually for up to one year, while settlement agencies assist with establishing life in Canada.
Private Sponsorship of Refugees
Approved sponsorship agreement holders and, where current intake rules permit, other eligible groups undertake financial and settlement support. Sponsors must provide a credible settlement plan and satisfy the applicable financial, residency and organizational requirements.
Blended Visa Office-Referred Program
IRCC identifies and approves referred refugees for matching with sponsors. Government and private sponsors share financial support, while sponsors provide settlement support throughout the sponsorship period.
Eligibility and admissibility
Resettlement applicants must meet the applicable refugee or country-of-asylum class definition and pass identity, medical, criminality, security and other admissibility screening.
Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot
An economic pathway for skilled refugees and displaced people.
The EMPP helps eligible skilled refugees and displaced people qualify through existing economic immigration programs while addressing some displacement-related document and processing barriers. It is not an asylum claim and does not replace the eligibility rules of the underlying economic program.
The federal pathway and regional pathways have different requirements. Depending on the route, the applicant may need a qualifying job offer, language results, education or work experience, settlement funds and proof of refugee or displaced-person status. Provincial or regional nomination requirements continue to apply where applicable.
Federal selection
A limited federal pathway for qualifying candidates, including job-offer and no-job-offer options where the current criteria permit. Intake limits and eligibility must be checked before relying on the route.
Provincial or regional selection
A candidate first qualifies through a participating provincial, territorial or regional economic program and then receives facilitation under the EMPP framework.
Pre-removal risk assessment
A PRRA is available only when CBSA says the person is eligible.
A pre-removal risk assessment examines specified risks before removal. A person cannot simply choose to file one: a CBSA officer must first notify the person that they may apply. A PRRA is not the same as an IRB refugee hearing.
In most cases, a 12-month waiting period follows the last negative refugee or PRRA decision, withdrawal or abandonment, or a Federal Court refusal. Country-specific exemptions may apply. A PRRA is unavailable in certain cases, including some Safe Third Country Agreement ineligibility decisions, recognized protection in a country of return, existing protected-person status and extradition.
The new one-year and 14-day claim bars do not guarantee immediate PRRA access.
IRCC states that affected people may still have access to a PRRA before removal, but eligibility and timing are determined within the removal process. Anyone facing enforcement should obtain specialized advice immediately.
What this firm can and cannot do
We do not accept refugee claimant cases.
We do not prepare claims before the Refugee Protection Division or represent refugee appeals before the Refugee Appeal Division. If your matter is instead a work, study, business, family sponsorship, permanent-resident, citizenship, criminal-inadmissibility or other immigration issue, review the appropriate section of our program directory.
Where refugee issues overlap with another immigration matter, the correct first step is to identify which process and representative are appropriate. Do not delay a refugee assessment while exploring ordinary immigration options.
General information only—not legal advice. Refugee eligibility is urgent and fact-specific. Reviewed September 23, 2026 against current IRCC guidance following the March 26, 2026 royal assent of Bill C-12.