You want to apply for asylum or refugee protection in Canada? Although Canada is not the largest recipient of refugee or political asylum applicants at the international level, it is the country that approves refugee applications in the world; it approved more than 22,000 refugee applications last year and is expected to receive more than 60,000 applications by 2023.

 

The country honors its international commitments and its history of humanitarian aid tradition by adhering strongly to the Geneva Convention in terms of refugee protection.

 

Where to start the application for the refugee process in Canada?

 

Depending on the place where the applicants are located at the time they are applying, and can be:

 

At an official Canadian port of entry, border post or airport. Upon arriving there, the person can request refuge or asylum.

 

Within Canada: at an immigration office or at one of Canada's Border Services Agencies.

 

Outside Canada: asylum requests and cases to be evaluated are channeled through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and private humanitarian aid organizations in agreement with the Canadian government.

 

In these cases, an official will determine if the claimant is eligible to file an asylum application. If positive, the application is sent to the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board. They are determined whether to grant refugee status in Canada, after a hearing before a court.

 

How do you apply or request the refugee process in Canada?

 

For people who need to make a refugee claim in Canada, the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Protection Act establishes that it can be through two categories:

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Conventional refugee

 

This corresponds to the conventional category and is the individual who is outside his country of origin or habitual residence, to which he cannot return for fear of being persecuted for reasons that have to do with the practice of his work, sexual orientation, opinions policies, gender, religion, nationality or belonging to a social group.

Protected person

 

Applies to people who are in Canada and are afraid to return to their country of origin or habitual residence because they have death threats; or risk inhuman, cruel and unusual punishment.

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How do I start the asylum process in Canada?

 

To start the process, it is advisable to take into account the following:

 

Have the guidance of an experienced person or consulting agency with experience in refugee and political asylum procedures, to ensure that your case is feasible enough and, if necessary, adjust your case to make it convincing.

 

Points to consider

 

Consider that the application process for asylum has a time frame of approximately 1 and a half years for the response, during which time the Canadian government allows the applicant to work and the children to study.

 

The applicant must prepare for the hearing with the immigration judge in charge of making the decision to accept or reject the refugee claim. If the petition is rejected, there is the possibility of appealing or opting for the humanitarian permanent residence process.

 

Be aware that applicants with previously rejected applications in Canada are not eligible.

 

Support to request refuge in Canada

 

If you plan to start an asylum application in Canada, we strongly recommend hiring an intermediary or consultancy office to receive professional support.

 

The reason is because this process is quite perplexing and requires the applicant to receive counseling in order to present a well-constructed and credibly substantiated application before the government of Canada.

 

Although many people prefer to start seeking advice after having traveled to Canada, we strongly recommend that it is more advisable to seek advice before entering Canada, so that when the application is presented at the point of entry of the country, the applicant already has a well established and elaborate and solid.

 

Because we are only a non-profit organization, we cannot play the role of intermediary for refugee claimants in Canada.

 

However, if you require professional assistance to request refugee in Canada, we kindly ask you to write to us by filling out the following form so that we can send you further information.

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