claimant's guide - immigration and refugee board of canada

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Home > Refugee Claims

Version 2 - 2013

Ready Tours for Refugee Claimants

The Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) collaborates with several non-governmental organizations (NGO) to help refugee claimants preparefor their upcoming hearings through Ready Tours.

These tours are free of charge and are held in our Vancouver, Torontoand Montrealoffices to inform refugee claimants about:

How to prepare for their upcoming hearingWhat will take place at the hearingWho will participate in the hearingMandatory deadlines

For more information, please contact the NGO who is organizing the Ready Tours in your region.

Table of Contents

About This GuideAn Introduction to Refugee Protection in CanadaDefinitionsClaiming Refugee Protection

How do I make a claim for refugee protection?

At a port of entryAt an inland office

What are my responsibilities?

Claimant's Guide - Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada http://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/Eng/RefClaDem/Pages/ClaDemGuide.aspx#wb-cont

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Your general responsibilities areYour contact information and your counsel's contact informationIf you wish to make changes related to your hearing

Which language will the RPD use with me?When can the RPD declare that my claim has been abandoned?

Can I withdraw my refugee protection claim?

Basis of Claim Form and Paperwork

What is a Basis of Claim Form (BOC Form)?How long do I have to complete my BOC Form?

If you made your claim at a port of entryIf you made your claim at an inland office

What language can I use to complete my BOC Form?

Do children need to complete a BOC Form?Do I need a designated representative (DR)?What happens if I do not give my completed BOC Form on time?What happens if I do not give my contact information on time?Can I make changes to my BOC Form?

Counsel

Do I need counsel to represent me in my claim?Who can be counsel?

What if my counsel wants to represent me in the other official language?How do I get my documents if my counsel is no longer representing me?

Preparing for Your Hearing

How will I know when my hearing wil l be held?Timelines for RPD hearings from when your claim is referred to the RPDWhat happens if I am not available and/or my counsel is not available on the hearing date?

If your counsel is not available on the hearing date

If you are not available on the hearing dateCan I change the official language I asked the RPD to use with me after submitting my BOC Form?What will happen if I change the official language I asked the RPD to use with me?Can I change the language to be interpreted at my hearing after submitting my BOC Form?Do I have to give the RPD any documents?When does the RPD need to receive my documents?Do my documents need to be translated?What other documents will the RPD use to decide whether to accept my claim?What do I need to show in order for my claim to be accepted?

Your Hearing

Who will make a deecision about my claim?


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Will an interpreter be provided for me?Do my children need to come to the hearing?Can I bring witnesses?What will happen at my hearing?

1. You will testify

2. Witnesses will testify3. Comments (representations) will be made about your case4. A decision will be made

What happens after the decision?

If your claim is allowedIf your claim is rejected

Getting help

Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada - Refugee Protection Division RegistriesCitizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA)

About This Guide

This guide is for people who are claiming refugee protectionin Canada. It will give you basic information about:

how decisions are made about refugee protection in Canada;what the Refugee Protection Division(RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) does; andwhat you need to do.

An Introduction to Refugee Protection in Canada

The IRB is an independent tribunal responsible, through its Refugee Protection Division (RPD), for deciding refugee protection claims in Canada.

You can be given refugee protection in Canada if you meet the United Nations (UN) definition of a Convention refugee, or if you are a person in need ofprotection. The UN defines Convention refugees as people who have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, politicalopinion or membership in a particular social group. Membership in a particular social group can include, but is not limited to, sexual orientation, genderidentity, domestic violence and HIV status. Persons in need of protection must show that if they return to their home country, they will face a danger oftorture, a risk to their life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.


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If you are from a DCO and you made your claim at an inland office:No later than 30 days after your claim is sent to the RPD

OR

If you are from a DCO and you made your claim at a port of entry:No later than 45 days after your claim is sent to the RPD

OR

If you are not from a DCO:No later than 60 days after your claim is sent to the RPD

The CIC or CBSA officer who sends your claim to the RPD to start the claim for refugee protection process will set a date and time for your hearing. The officerwill give you a Notice to Appear for a Hearing, which will tell you when and where to go. This notice will also tell you the time when your hearing will startand the time you must show up. Please make sure that you follow the instructions you get with the N o t i c e t o A p p e a r and that you tell the RPDif your address or telephone number changes.

What happens if I am not available and/or my counsel is not available on the hearing date?

When a hearing date has been set, you and your counsel (if you have one) must be ready for the hearing on that date. However, in some cases, you can applyto the RPD to change the date and time of your hearing.

If you apply to change the date and time and do not receive an answer or if your application to change the date and time is refused, thenyou must go to your hearing on the date and time set by the officer.

If you have been told that CIC or the CBSA will be participating in your hearing, you must give a copy of your application to change the date and time to theCIC or CBSA representative.

When you give your original application to the RPD, you also need to include a written statement on how and when you gave a copy of your application to CICor the CBSA.

a) If your counsel is not available on the hearing date

You can apply to change the date or time of your hearing if:

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accepted.

CIC and CBSA will receive copies of the decision as they may wish to appeal a positive decision to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) or seek leave andjudicial review at the Federal Court.

Unless the RPD's decision is appealed to and overturned by the RAD or is reviewed and overturned by the Federal Court, you may be eligible to apply to CIC

for permanent residence. For more information, please refer to CIC web site.

If your claim is rejected

If your claim is rejected, the RPD will send you a written Notice of Decisionand an explanation of the reasons why your claim was rejected.

The Notice of Decisionwill tell you whether you can appeal the decision to the Refugee Appeal Division or file an application for leave and for judicial reviewwith the Federal Court.

Most claimants can appeal to the RAD. However you cannot appeal to the RAD in the following cases:

you are a designated foreign national;your refugee protection claim was withdrawn or abandoned;the RPD's decision says that your claim has no credible basis or is manifestly unfounded;you made your claim at a land border with the United States and the claim was sent to the RPD as an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement;the Minister applied to cease (stop) your refugee protection, and the RPD's decision allows that application;the Minister applied to vacate (cancel) the decision to allow your refugee protection claim, and the RPD's decision allows that application;your claim was sent to the IRB before the time stipulated in the amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Actconcerning appeal rights.

Getting Help

IRB web site

Refugee Protection Division Registry Contacts

REGISTRY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY

Eastern Region

Montreal

Guy-Favreau Complex

200 Ren-Lvesque Blvd. West, East Tower, Room 102

Montral, Quebec

H2Z 1X4

Telephone: 514-283-7733 or 1-866-626-8719Fax: 514-283-0164

Quebec

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

Prince Edward Island

Newfoundland

Nunavut

Ottawa (Ontario)

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Top of PageDate modified: 2016-01-21

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)

Telephone: 1-888-242-2100Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-888-576-8502CIC web site

Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Telephone: 1-800-461-9999Teletypewriter (TTY): 1-866-335-3237CBSA web site

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