Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA): 2026 Guide

The PRRA is set out in sections 112 to 116 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and sections 160 to 174 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. It applies the principle of non-refoulement: Canada should not send a person to a country where they would face persecution, torture, a risk to life or cruel and unusual treatment. An IRCC officer decides the application and holds a hearing only in limited cases. The CBSA decides when a person is ready for removal and gives the notification.

To apply after an in-person notification, to get the stay

15 days

Earliest decision date after notification, for an on-time application

30 days

Usual wait after a final negative decision

12 months

Bill C-12 waiting-period changes in force

Nov 3, 2026

The point most people get wrong is timing. You cannot apply whenever you like: the regulations allow an application only after the CBSA gives you a notification, which happens before removal. And only a first PRRA received on time stops removal. A late application, a second application or an application at a port of entry is still assessed but does not put removal on hold.

Bill C-12 also made asylum claims ineligible for the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) if they are made more than one year after first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, or 14 or more days after crossing the Canada-US land border between ports of entry. IRCC says people affected by these rules still have access to a PRRA. Because their claim was never heard, they can send all relevant evidence, not only new evidence.

You must be in Canada and subject to a removal order that is in force, and you can apply only after the CBSA tells you that you are eligible. Section 112 then sets these bars.

Exemptions from the 12-month wait: the Minister can exempt nationals or former residents of a country, a region or a class, when sudden events could put them at risk. IRCC's list shows each exemption as a window of dates in which the negative decision must have been made. The most recent windows on the list ended on September 29, 2026, so check the list for your country and your decision date. An exemption does not apply to people whose refugee claim was decided after the exemption came into force.

Restricted assessment: if you are inadmissible on serious grounds, such as security, human or international rights violations, organized criminality or serious criminality for an offence punishable by at least 10 years, or your refugee claim was rejected under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, IRCC usually does not assess persecution under the Refugee Convention. It assesses only torture, risk to life and cruel and unusual treatment, and weighs the danger you present or the nature of your acts. A positive decision then gives a stay of removal, not protected person status.

1. 1

   1. Notification from the CBSA

   When removal starts, a CBSA officer checks whether you are eligible and gives you the Notification Regarding a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, the application form (IMM 5508) and the guide. Notification happens when you receive the form by hand, or 7 days after it is mailed to your last address.

2. 2

   2. Apply within 15 days

   Submit your complete application within 15 days if you got the form in person, or 22 days if it came by mail. For mailed applications, IRCC relies on the postmark date. Each family member in Canada aged 18 or older who is applying completes their own form. Submit online through Canada Post's Connect (recorded when it reaches Connect) or by mail to IRCC Humanitarian Migration in Vancouver.

3. 3

   3. Send written submissions and evidence

   Explain why you would be at risk, what kind of risk, how it concerns you personally, whether you could live safely elsewhere in your country and how your situation differs from the general population. Send submissions by the date on your notification. For an on-time first application, the regulations do not allow a decision until at least 30 days after notification.

4. 4

   4. Translations and representatives

   Documents not in English or French need a certified translation, or a translator's affidavit, plus a copy of the original; untranslated documents are not considered. A paid representative must be authorized, and you must sign the application yourself.

5. 5

   5. Hearing, if needed

   IRCC holds a hearing only if evidence raises a serious credibility issue that is central to the decision and would justify allowing the application, or if the only reason your claim was ineligible was a claim in an information-sharing country. Hearings are held remotely on Microsoft Teams, and IRCC arranges an interpreter if you ask.

6. 6

   6. Decision

   The CBSA tells you the decision in person. You can ask for a copy of the officer's notes that justify the decision.

The stay that comes with a first, on-time application lasts until you confirm in writing that you will not apply, you miss the deadline, the application is rejected, or, if it is allowed, a decision is made on your permanent residence application. If you leave Canada while waiting, the application is declared abandoned and rejected.

Work: with a valid work permit and an on-time first application, you can keep working until the decision or until the permit expires, whichever comes first. Without one, you can apply for a work permit until the PRRA is decided. Health: the Interim Federal Health Program can cover people whose claim was found ineligible and who were told they can apply for a PRRA.

Time limits in effect on November 4, 2026:

1. Day 0

   Notification by hand

   If mailed, notification counts 7 days after mailing

2. 15 days

   Application deadline to get the stay of removal

   22 days if the form came by mail

3. 30 days after notification

   Earliest date IRCC can decide an on-time application

   Send submissions by the date on your notification

4. 15 days

   Written response to assessments, for a restricted PRRA

   After you receive the two written assessments

5. 15 days

   Federal Court application for leave, after a refusal

   Through a lawyer; removal continues unless the Court orders a stay

The live processing time shown below is for permanent residence as a protected person, the next step after a positive PRRA. It is not the time to decide a PRRA.

• No new evidence: after a refused claim, the officer can consider only evidence that meets the new evidence test in section 113(a). Repeating the refugee claim is not enough.
• Risk not personal: the officer asks how the risk concerns you directly and how your situation compares with the rest of the population. Section 97 does not cover a risk faced generally by others in the country.
• Safety elsewhere in your country: the guide asks whether you could escape the risk by moving to another city or region.
• Weak or untranslated documents: documents without a proper translation are not considered, and unexplained documents carry little weight.
• Late submissions: evidence sent after the date on your notification may be decided without, and a late application loses the stay of removal.
• Abandonment: missing a hearing and then a second hearing, or leaving Canada, ends the application.

• Accepted: in most cases you become a protected person and can apply for permanent residence. IRCC covers medical costs under the Interim Federal Health Program for 90 days, or until you get provincial or territorial health insurance.
• Accepted on a restricted PRRA: your removal is stayed for the country where you are at risk, but you cannot apply for permanent residence as a protected person. The Minister can re-examine the stay if circumstances change.
• Rejected: you must leave Canada. You can apply to the Federal Court for leave for judicial review within 15 days, but you must still leave unless the Court grants a stay of removal. Immigration consultants cannot appear in the Federal Court.
• Withdrawing: you can withdraw at any time with the Notification of Withdrawal form at a CBSA inland office. The removal order is then back in force.
• A refused PRRA starts a new 12-month wait before you can apply again, unless an exemption applies.