Basis of Claim (BOC): Form, Deadlines and Changes

The Basis of Claim is the core of a refugee claim. Schedule 1 of the Refugee Protection Division Rules (RPD Rules) lists the information you must give, such as what you fear would happen if you returned, what has already happened to you and your family, and whether you sought protection in your country or elsewhere. At the hearing, the RPD member compares your Basis of Claim with your documents and your testimony.

To submit your application, including your BOC information

60 days

After the Notice to Appear, for changes or additions

5 days

After referral, for personal evidence

30 days

Before the hearing, for country conditions evidence

10 days

The point most people get wrong is treating the Basis of Claim as a first draft. It is signed under a declaration that it is complete, true and correct, with the same effect as an oath. Facts you leave out and add later, or details that change between versions, are a frequent reason members doubt a claimant's credibility.

Under the rules before November 3, 2026, inland claimants gave the completed BOC form to the officer by the eligibility decision. Port of entry claimants sent it to the RPD after referral, within 15 days under the regulations, which RPD practice notices extended to 45 days from August 2020. Those claims have already been referred, so this history matters mainly for checking which later deadlines apply.

The online application asks the RPD's questions for you. The main items in Schedule 1 of the RPD Rules, as amended on November 3, 2026, are:

• Who you areYour names (including any you used before), date of birth, sex and gender, nationality, ethnic or racial group or tribe, languages and dialects, and religion.
• What you fearWhether you believe you would be persecuted or harmed if you returned today, what you expect would happen, who would do it and why.
• What has happenedWhether you, a relative or people in your situation were persecuted, harmed, mistreated or threatened, by whom, when and why.
• Protection you soughtWhether you asked any authority or organization in your country for help and what happened. If not, why not.
• Other placesWhether you moved within your country or to another country for safety, whether you claimed asylum there and, if not, why not.
• Travel and entryWhen and why you left, any Canadian visa applications, who helped you get a visa and whether they were paid, and the date you entered Canada.
• Family and childrenRelatives' details, earlier refugee claims by you or close family, and, for a child under 7 claiming with you, why the child would be at risk.
• Help and representationWho helped you make the claim, whether you have counsel and what they were retained to do, your official language and whether you need an interpreter.

Write in English or French. Give specific dates, places and names where you can, in the order events happened. If family members claim with you, the IRB says one person can rely on another's answers, but each claimant 18 or older must sign their own declaration. A parent, legal guardian or designated representative completes the application for each child under 18.

1. 1

   1. Eligibility decision

   When an officer finds your claim eligible, you receive a Notice of Application Due Date. You have 60 days after the day of that decision (section 159.8 of the regulations), and the notice shows your due date.

2. 2

   2. Answer the RPD's questions

   Complete the Basis of Claim questions and the rest of the application in the IRCC Portal. Upload copies of your identity and travel documents, genuine or not, and any documents about children claiming with you.

3. 3

   3. Sign the declarations

   Each claimant 18 or older declares the information is complete, true and correct. If you answered without an interpreter, you declare you can read and understand the language. If an interpreter helped, the interpreter signs a declaration too, and you upload it before submitting.

4. 4

   4. Ask for more time if you need it

   Before the due date, ask in the IRCC Portal for the one-time 30-day extension. It is automatic and applies to your whole family group. IRCC may also extend or pause the period for reasons of fairness.

5. 5

   5. Update before referral

   If you need to correct or add to your Basis of Claim before referral, use the IRCC web form and choose Update your application. Include a document explaining the changes and list any documents you add.

6. 6

   6. After the Confirmation of Referral

   From now on, send everything to the RPD, not IRCC. Changes go on the RPD's mandatory form, with a description of how the new information differs and a new declaration. They must arrive no later than 5 days after you receive the Notice to Appear.

7. 7

   7. At the hearing

   The member questions you about your application. If an interpreter helped you prepare it, the member asks whether you understood what was interpreted.

Send changes without delay, even before the deadline. The IRB says that if you have no counsel and receive the Notice to Appear by mail, it allows 7 days for delivery, so your changes are due 12 days after the date on the notice, moved to the next business day if that is a weekend or holiday. If you use the IRB's My Case portal, you receive the notice at once and have 5 days.

Use the RPD's form called Changes to the BOC form or BOC information for every change and identify each change clearly. The RPD applies the form requirement flexibly for claimants without counsel, but the changes must still be in writing. If you get an identity or travel document after referral, give the original to the Minister without delay and a copy to the RPD, saying how and when you gave the original.

• Identity documentsPassport, national identity card, birth or marriage certificate, driver's licence or military document. If you have none, be ready to explain why and what you did to get them (RPD Rule 11).
• Personal evidencePolice or medical reports, proof of political or other membership, sworn statements from witnesses, photographs, threats you received and travel records. You can upload what you have with your application.
• Country conditionsCheck the IRB's National Documentation Package for your country. Do not send documents already in it. Up to 100 pages per country without permission, due 10 days before the hearing, and never uploaded in the IRCC Portal.
• TranslationsA document not in English or French needs a translation and a declaration by a human translator with their name, the language and dialect, and a statement that it is accurate. Software or AI may help, but the translator must review it and say AI was used.
• No AI-created evidenceYou cannot use AI to create or change evidence. If you use AI in other documents, such as written arguments, you must declare it.
• Copies to the MinisterIf the Minister intervenes, send the Minister a copy of everything you give the RPD. The My Case portal sends documents to the RPD only.

Late documents are not automatically refused. Provide what you have on time, then send any later document with the RPD's application to submit late disclosure, explaining when you asked for it, when you got it and why it matters. The member decides whether it can be used, considering its relevance, whether it is new and whether you could have provided it on time with reasonable effort.

Documents not in English or French must come with a translation and a translator's declaration, so plan for translation costs. Key time limits in effect on November 4, 2026:

1. 60 days after eligibility

   Application with Basis of Claim information

   Plus one 30-day extension if you ask before the due date

2. Before referral

   Updates through the IRCC web form

3. 30 days after referral

   Personal evidence to the RPD

   60 days for claims referred November 3, 2026 to January 3, 2027

4. 5 days after the Notice to Appear

   Changes or additions to your Basis of Claim

5. 10 days before the hearing

   Country conditions evidence

The wait from referral to a hearing is long. The live figure below is IRB data on past cases, not a forecast for your claim.

• Omissions: an important event appears for the first time in testimony or in a late change, and the member asks why it was left out.
• Inconsistencies: dates, places or names differ between your Basis of Claim, your other application answers, your documents and your testimony.
• Vague account: general statements that do not explain who harmed you, when and why, or why you cannot get protection or live elsewhere in your country.
• Interpretation problems: an account written with an interpreter that you did not fully understand before signing.
• Unsupported identity: no acceptable identity documents and no reasonable explanation of the steps you took to get them.
• Missed deadlines: late changes or evidence the member does not accept, or a claim declared abandoned before or after referral.

Correct a mistake as soon as you find it, in writing and on the required form, and explain why the information changed.