What is a refugee claim?
An applicant making a refugee claim must prove that they are either a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection. If a claim is successful, the claimant is found to be a protected person and can apply for permanent residence under the Protected Persons and Convention Refugees class.
Refugee claims can be made from within Canada or at a port of entry, for example, a Canadian international airport.
An officer from IRCC or Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) interviews the applicant to decide if they are eligible to make a refugee claim. If they are eligible, IRCC or CBSA sends their claim to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
The IRB decides refugee claims. Once the claim is referred to the IRB, claimants have a right to a hearing, and to submit evidence to the IRB to support their claim.
Convention refugee
A Convention refugee must show a well-founded fear of being persecuted in their home country based on at least one of these things:
- race
- religion
- nationality
- political opinion
- membership in a particular social group — which includes women who have experienced domestic violence and people who are persecuted because of their sexual orientation or gender
Persecution can include situations where there is a reasonable chance that a person could experience serious harm, mistreatment, abuse, punishment, discrimination, harassment, or denial of their most basic human rights.
A woman does not need to show that she has already been persecuted, but she does need to show a risk of persecution if she returns home.
A Convention refugee may be afraid of being persecuted either by government authorities or others. A claimant who fears persecution by others must show that their government cannot or will not protect them.
Person in need of protection
A person in need of protection is someone who would likely face at least one of these things if they are forced to return to their home country:
- torture
- a risk to their life
- a risk of cruel and unusual treatment
If the claim is based on one of the 3 situations of risk, they must show all of the following:
- Their own government will not adequately protect them.
- The risk affects them personally. It is not a general risk faced by others in the country, such as, famine or civil war.
- The risk is not the result of laws, such as being punished for committing a crime, unless these laws do not meet international standards.
- The risk is not caused by their country being unable to give them the medical care they need, unless this is because of persecution or discrimination.
To prove that they are a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection, a claimant must also show that there is no place in their home country that they could get to safely, where:
- they would be free from the risk that they face, and
- it would be reasonable to expect them to live.
This is called the “internal flight alternative”.