Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA): Abandonment, withdrawal, and vacation

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• Abandonment
• Withdrawal
• Vacation
  • When vacation is initiated
  • Adverse information should be disclosed
  • Decision on vacation
• Vacation pending application for permanent residence or where person is a permanent resident

Abandonment

Section 169 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) provides the conditions under which an application will be declared abandoned. Abandonment applies when applicants fail to attend a second scheduled hearing after being given notice, or when they voluntarily depart Canada.

In the case of failure to attend a hearing, paragraph R169(a) stipulates that the applicant should be afforded a second opportunity to attend a hearing with prior notice. Should the applicant fail to appear at the subsequent hearing, the application is declared abandoned.

Paragraph R169(b) states the PRRA application is declared abandoned if an applicant voluntarily departs Canada, when their removal order is enforced under section R240, or when they otherwise leave the country.

Withdrawal

Section R170 provides a legal basis for applicants to withdraw an application for protection. Notice of withdrawal must be made in writing and the application is declared withdrawn on receipt of the notice. Withdrawal requests have to be made to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).

Vacation

As per subsection 114(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has the authority to vacate a decision to allow a PRRA application if they are of the opinion that it was obtained as a result of directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts on a relevant matter. When a PRRA decision is vacated, the decision is nullified and the application for protection is deemed to have been rejected at the time of the decision to vacate.

The Regulations do not specify the procedure for vacation of PRRA decisions. The following procedures for vacation will ensure that vacation decisions are made in an efficient manner, while respecting the procedural rights of the person concerned.

When vacation is initiated

Vacation is permitted only where the decision to allow a PRRA application resulted from misrepresentation or withholding of relevant information. It does not apply where circumstances in the country of removal have changed such that the person would no longer be in need of protection.

Occasionally, decision makers obtain evidence or facts indicating that the decision to allow the original protection application was obtained as a result of direct or indirect misrepresentation or withholding of facts on a relevant matter. However, it is more likely that the information comes to light through other means, such as through inquiries or investigations conducted with respect to the person, either by the CBSA or by other Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officers.

The manager should handle communication on these cases with other IRCC branches or with the CBSA. For information on commencing vacation proceedings, managers should request functional guidance by sending a request to the Asylum Branch (AB).

If formal vacation proceedings commence, the manager should ensure that the case is assigned to a decision maker who had no previous involvement with the PRRA or other applications by the same person.

For further guidance, decision makers should discuss the case with their manager who can in turn request functional guidance by sending a request to the Asylum Branch (AB).

Adverse information should be disclosed

If a decision maker has a case where facts and evidence may lead to the conclusion that there has been misrepresentation or withholding of facts on a relevant matter, they shall send a procedural fairness letter to the person concerned. The letter will detail the evidence, include copies of any unclassified extrinsic evidence, and provide the person with 15 days to respond.

Decision on vacation

Once the response is received, the decision maker shall:

• carefully review the submissions and evidence
• determine whether or not the previous decision was obtained as a result of misrepresentation or withholding of relevant facts
• determine whether there was other sufficient evidence considered at the time of the first determination to justify allowing a positive PRRA decision

If the decision is to vacate the previous determination, the earlier determination is nullified and the person is no longer a protected person or, in a case where subsection A112(3) applied, no longer benefitting from a stay of removal. It is not open to the person concerned to bring forth new evidence on risk in the context of this decision-making process.

If the decision is to vacate the previous determination, the person is not precluded from applying again for protection and submitting any new evidence. However, the PRRA bar will apply.

Vacation pending application for permanent residence or where person is a permanent resident

Subsection A21(2) provides that protected persons, other than those referred to in subsection A112(3), may apply for permanent residence. When, as a result of a decision to vacate, the person is no longer a protected person, any pending application to become a permanent resident becomes null and void. Section A46 provides for loss of permanent residence should a decision to vacate occur after the person becomes a permanent resident.