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Refugee and Asylum Claims in Canada

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Refugee and Asylum Claims in Canada | SAAB Immigration Services, RCIC R536007
Refugee claims in Canada help from a licensed RCIC

Making refugee claims in Canada: where to start

Refugee claims in Canada let people who fear persecution seek Canada’s protection, but the process is detailed and the stakes are high. If you are considering refugee claims, understanding eligibility and preparing your evidence early gives you the best chance of success.

Most refugee claims are decided by the Refugee Protection Division after a hearing, where you explain why you cannot safely return home. Strong, well organized evidence and a clear, consistent account are central to refugee claims.

We can help you understand your options and prepare with confidence. Book a free 10 minute call on our consultation page or explore our refusals and appeals hub, and review the official process from IRCC.

Refugee and Asylum Claims in Canada

What this page covers

The 2026 rule changes affect who can claim and when, so read that section before you do anything else. Timing here is not a detail, it decides eligibility.

A refugee claim is not an immigration application. It is a request for protection, decided by an independent tribunal, on one question: whether returning you to your country would put you at risk. The law governing it changed substantially in 2026, and a great deal of the guidance still circulating online is now simply wrong.

What Changed in 2026, and Why It Matters Before You Do Anything

On 26 March 2026 Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, received Royal Assent. It added two grounds on which a claim can be found ineligible before it ever reaches a hearing. Both apply to claims made on or after 3 June 2025.

The One Year Rule:

  • Applies if you entered Canada after 24 June 2020
  • A claim made more than one year after the day you entered is ineligible
  • Where you entered more than once, the clock runs from your first entry
  • Leaving Canada and coming back does not reset the clock

The Irregular Entry Rule:

  • Applies where you crossed from the United States at a place that is not a port of entry
  • A claim made after the fourteen day limit is ineligible
  • Unaccompanied minors are exempt from both rules under a temporary public policy in force since 19 May 2026
  • If either rule catches you, the file is diverted to a pre-removal risk assessment, which can itself result in protection being granted

Why this matters more than it looks. Read together with the Safe Third Country Agreement, these rules close a route many people still believe is open. Before 2026, crossing irregularly and waiting fourteen days took a person outside the Agreement and into the system. Today, claiming within fourteen days means you can be returned to the United States under the Agreement, and claiming after fourteen days means the claim is statutorily ineligible.

Considering a Refugee or Asylum Claim in Canada?

The eligibility rules changed materially in 2026, and a first step taken on outdated guidance can end a claim before it is heard. SAAB Immigration Services Inc. offers a complimentary ten minute consultation to establish whether a claim remains open to you and what the alternatives are. There is no obligation.

Book a free 10 minute check

How Is a Claim Made?

There are two routes into the system, and which one you use decides who assesses your eligibility.

Claiming at a Port of Entry:

  • Made at an airport, land border or marine port
  • A CBSA officer decides whether the claim is eligible to be referred
  • A port of entry is legally considered to be located in Canada
  • You provide your Basis of Claim form within fifteen days of referral

Claiming From Inside Canada:

  • An IRCC officer decides eligibility
  • The claim is made through the asylum application in the IRCC Portal
  • You provide your Basis of Claim form when you make the claim
  • An eligible claim goes to the Refugee Protection Division and you receive a Refugee Protection Claimant Document
  • An ineligible claim means a removal order comes into force immediately

Everyone who claims must complete an immigration medical examination within thirty days. The cost is covered by the Interim Federal Health Program.

Who Is Not Eligible?

Section 101 of IRPA sets out the full list. A claim is ineligible in any of these situations, and the two new 2026 grounds now sit alongside them.

Grounds of Ineligibility:

  • Protection has already been conferred on you in Canada, or the Board has already rejected a claim by you
  • A previous claim of yours was found ineligible, or was withdrawn or abandoned
  • You made a refugee claim in another country before claiming here
  • Another country has recognised you as a Convention refugee and can take you back
  • You came directly or indirectly from the United States and the Safe Third Country Agreement applies
  • You are inadmissible on grounds of security, human or international rights violations, serious criminality or organized criminality

What Is the Safe Third Country Agreement?

Since 25 March 2023 the Agreement applies across the entire land border including internal waterways, not only at official crossings. It applies at land ports of entry, between ports of entry where the claim is made within fourteen days of entry, by train, and at airports only where you were refused refugee status in the United States and are in transit following removal.

The Four Exception Categories:

  • You have a family member in Canada who is a citizen, permanent resident, protected person, or holder of a valid work or study permit
  • You are an unaccompanied minor under eighteen with no parent or legal guardian in Canada or the United States
  • You hold a valid Canadian visa, work permit, study permit or travel document, or you do not require a visa
  • Your case falls within the public interest exception, which includes people charged with or convicted of an offence punishable by death

The family member definitions are detailed and heavily litigated, and whether you fit one is not a question to answer from a website. One consequence is worth knowing before you rely on an exception: if your claim is referred as an exception to the Agreement, you have no right of appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division.

What Happens at the Hearing?

You must file your Basis of Claim form within fifteen calendar days of referral if you claimed at a port of entry. Missing that deadline triggers a special hearing at which you have to explain yourself, and a claim can be declared abandoned.

What the Hearing Involves:

  • Usually a half day, held in private, before a single trained Board member
  • Conducted remotely by default since January 2021
  • You testify, and the member questions you, as does your own counsel
  • Minister’s counsel from IRCC or CBSA may take part and question you as well
  • Witnesses can testify in support of your claim

On timing, we will give you a frank assessment. The regulations say thirty, forty-five or sixty days. The Board’s own figures put the average wait at roughly twenty-two months from referral, including about six months of front end security screening, with around sixteen months once a claim is ready to be adjudicated. As at 31 March 2026 there were 294,989 claims pending.

What If Your Claim Is Refused?

A refusal is not necessarily the end, but each route has its own deadline and its own test, and they run fast.

The Routes Available, and Their Limits:

  • Refugee Appeal Division
    fifteen days to file from receipt of written reasons, thirty days to perfect
  • The Appeal Division is barred for designated foreign nationals, no credible basis and manifestly unfounded findings, and Safe Third Country exception claimants
  • Judicial review at the Federal Court
    leave required, fifteen days to file for a decision made in Canada
  • Stay of removal
    a separate motion, because filing judicial review does not by itself stop your removal
  • Pre-removal risk assessment
    subject to a twelve month bar from a decision on the merits
  • Humanitarian and compassionate application
    does not stop removal, and is barred for twelve months after a claim is rejected, withdrawn or abandoned

Who Represents You?

Representation before the Immigration and Refugee Board is a restricted area of practice. Since 1 July 2023 only a lawyer, a licensed paralegal, or a consultant holding the RCIC-IRB Class L3 licence may appear.

Judicial review at the Federal Court, refugee hearings, pre-removal risk assessments and stays of removal are legal services that fall outside the scope of practice of a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant under IRPA section 91. SAAB Immigration has a working relationship with Dr. Pallavi Kataria of Pallavi Law Office, and where a matter crosses that line she takes it over seamlessly. She is retained directly by the client under her own retainer, and we continue to work the immigration side of the file alongside her. It is a rare combination: an experienced RCIC and a lawyer on the same case.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I work while my refugee claim is being decided?

You can request a no-fee work permit through the online claim application, but IRCC cannot issue it until three things have happened: an eligibility decision has been made on your claim, your immigration medical examination is complete, and your biometrics have been collected.

What health coverage do I have as a claimant?

The Interim Federal Health Program covers hospital and out-patient services, care from licensed medical professionals, laboratory services and ambulance at no cost. Prescription drugs carry a four dollar co-payment. Supplemental coverage for urgent dental, vision, mental health counselling, physiotherapy and assistive devices carries a thirty per cent co-payment. You must use a provider registered with Medavie Blue Cross, which is a real practical barrier worth sorting out early.

Can I study while my claim is pending?

You can apply for a study permit separately once you are in Canada. You cannot request one at the same time as making the refugee claim.

I have been in Canada for two years. Can I claim now?

If you entered Canada after 24 June 2020, almost certainly not. Since Bill C-12 a claim made more than one year after the day you entered is ineligible, and where you entered more than once the clock runs from the first entry. Leaving and returning does not reset it. Your route would be a pre-removal risk assessment. Speak to someone before you file anything at all.

How long does a refugee claim actually take?

The regulations set out thirty days for inland claims, forty-five for port of entry claims and sixty otherwise. Those timelines are not what happens. The Board average is roughly twenty-two months from referral, including about six months of front end security screening. As at 31 March 2026 there were 294,989 claims pending.

What proportion of claims succeed?

In the first quarter of 2026 the Board finalized 22,512 claims: 12,976 accepted, 4,298 rejected, 3,604 abandoned and 1,634 withdrawn or otherwise resolved. That is about fifty-eight per cent of all finalizations, or about seventy-five per cent if you set aside claims that were abandoned or withdrawn. Neither figure predicts your case.

Does a pending claim stop me being removed?

While your claim is before the Board, yes. Once it is finally rejected, no. Removal becomes enforceable and the protections available at that point are narrow and time limited.

Can an immigration consultant represent me at the hearing?

Practice before the Immigration and Refugee Board has been a restricted area since 1 July 2023. Only a lawyer, a licensed paralegal, or a consultant holding the RCIC-IRB Class L3 licence may appear. This is why our working relationship with Dr. Pallavi Kataria matters: the hearing is hers, the immigration file stays with us, and you are not passed to a stranger.

Discuss Your Refugee or Asylum Matter With a Regulated Professional

Every claim turns on its own facts and its own timeline. In a single consultation we will assess your circumstances against the current framework, explain which route is realistically available, and set out clearly which part of the work sits with us and which sits with counsel. Please book a time that suits you.

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Related Pages

Other pages on this site that deal with closely connected questions.

© SAAB Immigration Services Inc. 2026