Making a Refugee Claim in Canada: 2026 Guide

A refugee claim asks Canada to protect you because it is unsafe to return to your country. Under section 99 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), a claim made inside Canada must be made in person to an officer, and not by someone subject to a removal order. Officers of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decide whether the claim is eligible. The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) then decides whether you are a Convention refugee (section 96) or a person in need of protection (section 97).

To complete your application after an eligible claim

60 days

One automatic extension if you ask before the due date

+30 days

Time limit for the government review before referral

365 days

To claim after your first entry into Canada

1 year

The point most people get wrong is that being found eligible is not the end of the paperwork. An eligible claim still has to be completed, reviewed and referred before the IRB has a file for you. Missing a deadline at any stage can lead to abandonment, and an abandoned claim makes any future claim ineligible.

You must prove that your claim is eligible to be referred to the RPD, and you must answer the officer's questions truthfully (IRPA subsection 100(1.1)). Section 101 lists the reasons a claim is ineligible.

Two exceptions apply. Neither rule applies if, when you claim, you are under 18 and have no parent or legally responsible adult in Canada (section 159.002 of the regulations). The one-year rule also does not apply if you submitted documents or information in the IRCC Portal, with a view to making a claim, within one year after your first entry (section 159.001).

If your claim is ineligible, the CBSA takes over your file instead of the IRB. At a removal interview, it tells you whether you can apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA); this is not available after an STCA ineligibility.

1. 1

   1. Start your claim

   At a port of entry, you tell a CBSA officer you want to claim asylum. Inside Canada, you create one IRCC Portal account for you and the family members claiming with you, answer the questions and upload an identity document for each person. The IRB says you then have 90 days to submit this first part, or you must start over. If IRCC asks for missing information and you do not send it on time, it closes the file, but you can apply again.

2. 2

   2. Eligibility interview

   At the border interview or your inland interview at an IRCC office, the claim is officially made. Bring original passports and identity documents for everyone. The officer keeps original travel documents, gives you certified copies, and fingerprints everyone aged 14 and older. Missing an inland interview closes your file.

3. 3

   3. If your claim is eligible

   You receive a conditional removal order (enforced only if your claim is withdrawn, abandoned or rejected), a Notice of Application Due Date, a Refugee Protection Identity Document (RPID) and instructions for your immigration medical exam.

4. 4

   4. Complete your application in 60 days

   Section 159.8 of the regulations gives you 60 days after the eligibility decision to submit the full application in the IRCC Portal. If you ask before the due date, it is extended once by 30 days for your whole family group. Your Basis of Claim information is now part of this application. Answer in English or French and upload any personal evidence you have.

5. 5

   5. Review and referral

   IRCC or the CBSA checks that the application is complete and carries out security and other screening, within 365 days after receiving everything required unless operational limitations prevent it. Before referral, update your application with the IRCC web form. After referral, you receive a Confirmation of Referral and send everything to the IRB.

6. 6

   6. Prepare for the hearing

   Personal evidence is due 30 days after referral (60 days for claims referred from November 3, 2026 to January 3, 2027), and country conditions evidence 10 days before the hearing. For claims referred from November 3, 2026, changes to your Basis of Claim must arrive within 5 days after you receive the Notice to Appear; earlier claims have transitional deadlines.

7. 7

   7. Hearing and decision

   The member may decide at the end of the hearing or later in writing. The Notice of Decision says whether you can appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) or apply to the Federal Court.

One RPD member decides your claim, based on your application, your Basis of Claim information, your testimony and the other evidence. You must show a well-founded fear of persecution for one of the five Convention grounds, or a personal risk under section 97, and that your country cannot or will not protect you. Under section 106, the member must consider whether you have acceptable identity documents or a reasonable explanation for not having them.

• Be in CanadaYou must be physically in Canada for the hearing and decision. A voluntary return to the country you fear abandons the claim (IRPA section 104.1).
• Mostly virtualMost hearings are virtual, on Microsoft Teams. Apply at least 10 working days before for an in-person hearing or a virtual hearing at an IRB office.
• Usually under 3 hoursMost hearings take less than 3 hours, are private and are recorded. The member usually questions you first, then Minister's counsel, then your counsel.
• InterpreterThe IRB can provide an interpreter for free. Name your language and dialect in your application. The member checks that you and the interpreter understand each other.
• MinorsChildren do not have to attend unless the member asks. An unaccompanied minor gets a designated representative appointed by the IRB, at no cost.
• Changing the dateApply at least 3 working days before, except for medical or emergency reasons. Changes are allowed only in exceptional circumstances.

• Work permitAsk for it in your claim application: there is no separate application or fee. Since November 3, 2026, it can be issued once your claim is eligible and complete and you pass the immigration medical exam, without waiting for referral. If you did not ask, you can apply separately at no fee.
• School for childrenChildren under 18 can attend kindergarten to secondary school without a study permit, using their RPID. Adults need a study permit for programs over 6 months.
• Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP)Pays for your immigration medical exam and gives temporary coverage until provincial or territorial insurance starts, until 90 days after you become a protected person, or until you leave Canada. Prescriptions and supplemental benefits have co-payments.
• Keep your details currentTell IRCC, the CBSA and, after referral, the RPD about any change of address, phone, email or counsel without delay.

You cannot apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds once your claim has been found eligible to be referred, or while it is pending at the RPD or the RAD (IRPA paragraph 25(1.2)(b), as amended November 3, 2026). If you withdraw your claim, your removal order comes into force and any future claim is ineligible.

The work permit requested in your claim has no fee, and the IFHP covers your immigration medical exam. Time limits in effect on November 4, 2026:

1. 90 days after starting

   Submit the first part of an inland claim in the IRCC Portal

2. 60 days after eligibility

   Complete the application

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

3. Up to 365 days

   Government review before referral

   Starts when IRCC has everything required

4. 30 days after referral

   Personal evidence to the RPD

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

5. 10 days before the hearing

   Country conditions evidence

The IRB told a House of Commons committee in March 2026 that the average wait for an RPD decision was 24 months from referral at the end of December 2025. The live figure below is IRB data on past cases, not a forecast for your claim.

• If the RPD accepts your claim, you become a protected person. The Minister has 15 days to appeal to the RAD or to apply to the Federal Court; if you receive nothing in that time, the Minister is not contesting the decision.
• You can then apply for permanent residence as a protected person and include eligible family members. Processing times are shown below.
• Voluntarily accepting your country's protection again, or going back to settle there, can lead to the loss of protection (IRPA section 108).