Urgent Protection Program (UPP)

(REF-OVS-13-2)

This page contains guidance for officers on processing cases accepted under the Urgent Protection Program (UPP).

Canada has the flexibility to respond quickly to individual emergency situations for a small number of government-assisted refugees who are identified by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) through the UPP. Refugees may be deemed in urgent need of protection when their life, liberty or physical safety is under immediate threat and, if not protected, they are likely to be killed, subjected to violence, torture, sexual assault or arbitrary imprisonment, or returned to their country of nationality or of former habitual residence.

Key messages: Close liaison and clear communication with the UNHCR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), security screening partners, the Regional Medical Office (RMO) and the Resettlement Operations Centre, Ottawa (ROC-O) is required to ensure that the case is expedited under the provisions of the UPP, including accelerated admissibility checks and travel booking.

Legal reference: Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations - Section 138

On this page

• Referral and intake
• Review of the submission
• File creation
• Eligibility assessment
• Destination matching request (DMR)
• Admissibility assessment
• Final decision and travel arrangements
• Finalization of the application from within Canada

Referral and intake

Refugee applicants must be referred to IRCC by the UNHCR under their emergency priority submission category to be eligible under the UPP. The referral submission should clearly indicate on the Refugee Registration Form why the case is being submitted as emergency priority.

For more information on the UNHCR’s resettlement submission categories and what constitutes an emergency priority, consult chapters 6 and 7 of the UNHCR Resettlement Handbook.

Review of submission

Upon receipt of the referral, the migration office decides whether to accept the submission under the UPP.

Their review may take into consideration

• whether the case meets the definition of urgent need of protection as per section R138:
  • urgent need of protection means, in respect of a member of the Convention refugee abroad or the country of asylum class, that their life, liberty or physical safety is under immediate threat and, if not protected, the person is likely to be
    1. killed
    2. subjected to violence, torture, sexual assault or arbitrary imprisonment
    3. returned to their country of nationality or of their former habitual residence
• whether it is operationally feasible to process the referral within the required timeline, including an assessment of whether any admissibility concerns are evident regarding any individuals included in the referral
• whether the global maximum number of UPP cases for the year has already been reached

If the referral cannot be accepted or cannot be processed within UPP processing timelines, the UNHCR should be informed as soon as possible after the referral has been made, so that they may refer the case to another country.

If the referral is accepted, officers should determine the appropriate processing timeline according to one of two processing standards. Depending on the urgency of the case, accepted UPP applications can be designated for emergency processing (UPX) or as UPP light (UPL).

Urgent Protection Program – emergency processing (UPX)

The migration office should work with partners to have the individual arrive in Canada within five days of the date of receipt of the referral.

Officers are encouraged to process the case to full permanent resident (PR) visa issuance. However, if this is not possible (for example, due to the inability to complete the immigration medical exam [IME] or assess admissibility of dependents in other countries of residence) officers may want to consider issuing a temporary resident permit (TRP) to facilitate travel within five days.

If a TRP is issued, remaining assessments on the PR application will be completed in Canada and a final decision will be determined by ROC-O.

Urgent Protection Program Lite (UPL)

If the migration office is unable to undertake processing within the five-day window, or if five-day processing is not required due to the circumstances of the case, officers should process the PR application to final decision within 4 months. A PR visa should be issued, not a TRP.

Next steps

Once a decision has been made to accept the case and a processing standard has been determined, the refugee coordinator will inform the UNHCR and the IN-ROD referral intake mailbox as soon as possible, and no later than 24 hours after the case was referred. Officers should communicate this decision by replying to all who submitted and received the email submission sent to the migration office.

File creation

REF-OVS PR application

All UPP cases require the creation of a REF-OVS PR application in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

Due to the urgency of the cases, migration offices may proceed with file creation of the PR application upon receipt and acceptance of the referral. However, ROC-O may also create the application in GCMS at the request of the migration office. Migration offices should advise the IN-ROD referral intake mailbox if they wish for ROC-O to proceed with file creation.

TRPs (protected temporary resident class)

Only cases that cannot have all assessments completed within the identified processing timeline may be issued a TRP. For example, if an applicant is being detained and the local authorities are not letting them go for their IME, then they will be required to travel on a TRP and have IMEs completed in Canada. Migration officers should consult with their migration program manager as necessary.

For more information on TRPs, please consult Temporary resident permits (TRPs).

When a TRP is issued, remaining assessments for the PR application will be completed once the applicant has arrived in Canada. The final decision will be determined and entered by ROC-O.

Eligibility assessment

All principal applicants and their dependents will be assessed to ensure they are eligible for resettlement to Canada. Assessments should be entered in GCMS without delay as soon as sufficient information is available.

For more information, consult Resettlement: Eligibility assessment.

A migration officer may wish to consider exercising their discretion to waive the interview. The decision may be based on a review of the information on file, provided by the UNHCR. For more information, consult Resettlement: Deciding when to interview.

If an interview is required for a UPX case, arrangements should be made to interview the applicant within 24 to 48 hours of the decision to proceed with the case. For UPL cases, arrangements to interview, if required, should be made within 7 to 10 days.

Destination matching request (DMR)

A DMR must be completed for all cases being processed under the UPP, including those travelling on a TRP.

As soon as a UPX case has been accepted into processing, a migration officer should

• initiate the DMR in GCMS
• send an email to ROC-O’s movement mailbox with the subject line “UPX / UPL – [Application #] – DMR to be completed”.

When this message is received, ROC-O will immediately complete the DMR and advise the Resettlement Assistance Program Service Provider Organization (RAP SPO) so that they can prepare for the arrival of the refugee(s).

If no selection interview has been conducted, ROC-O will use the information provided in the Refugee Registration Form (medicals, education, family ties, etc.) to complete the DMR.

For further information on how to initiate a DMR in GCMS and how DMRs are completed, please consult Government Assisted Refugee (GAR program).

If the individuals from a case are likely to arrive during non-business hours (ET), the IOM will advise IN-ROD, which will liaise with the Settlement Network to advise the RAP SPO accordingly.

Admissibility assessment

All refugees resettled under the UPP are assessed to ensure they do not pose a threat to the safety, security or health of Canada.

Assessments with respect to admissibility on grounds of security and criminality must be completed for all UPP applicants prior to document issuance (TRP or PR visa). However, decisions with respect to medical admissibility may be completed post-arrival in Canada in exceptional circumstances when these assessments can’t be completed overseas.

Medical admissibility risk assessment

For cases where an IME could not be completed or finalized within a reasonable time frame

• The migration office should liaise with the RMO to request an assessment of the risk associated with the issuance of a TRP.
• Officers should provide the RMO with any medical documents or certificates provided by the UNHCR or the IOM.
• The IOM should also be advised that the case will proceed without an IME and to arrange for any fit-to-fly assessments or tests required for travel purposes.

If there is a well-founded suspicion that the applicant may have a medical condition that would pose a danger to the public health or safety of Canadians, or if the final medical results are known and the applicant is inadmissible, the officer must liaise with the RMO to weigh potential risks against the applicant’s protection needs.

For more information, consult Danger to Public Health or Public Safety.

If the RMO indicates no apparent concerns or agrees that the protection needs outweigh the potential risks, the refugee may proceed to Canada on a TRP, and the IME will be completed post-arrival. For these cases, migration officers must still initiate an IME activity through the REF-OVS refugee application for all individuals travelling to Canada on a TRP, but the status can remain at “Generate” in GCMS.

Biometric collection

UPP clients are not exempt from the biometrics collection requirement. However, under section R12.8, designated officers have the discretion to exempt applicants from providing their biometrics if collection is determined to be impossible or not feasible. This is often the case with exceptionally vulnerable UPP cases that require accelerated processing.

To address this collection gap, a regulatory provision at paragraph R12.1(c) requires all overseas resettlement applicants to provide their biometrics in support of their application for PR status upon arrival to Canada at the port of entry (POE). IRCC and the CBSA have an operational agreement whereby the CBSA enrolls overseas resettlement applicants at the POE.

In such situations, the designated officer must select the assessment status “Urgent Protection Client” in GCMS.

If the applicant was exempted from biometric enrollment, a biographic activity must be submitted.

If biometrics were not collected prior to departure and the applicant arrives on a TRP, they will receive a biometric instruction letter (BIL) from ROC-O. The applicant will need to go to a designated Service Canada location in Canada and provide a copy of their letter for biometrics to be collected. A list of all collection points can be found at Where and when biometrics are collected.

If biometrics were not collected prior to departure and the applicant arrives on a PR visa, biometrics will be collected by the CBSA at the POE.

For more information, consult Biometrics collection and screening.

Final decision and travel arrangements

Prior to a final decision on a UPP case, a final destination in Canada must be provided via a DMR. Please see Destination matching request (DMR) for more information.

For refugee applicants travelling to Canada on a TRP, the final decision on the PR application will be made by ROC-O. Please see Finalization of the application from within Canada for more information.

Travel arrangements

UPP cases should be flagged to the IOM for travel booking as soon as possible after the DMR is completed by ROC-O.

Many arrangements may be required to prepare the refugee before departure to Canada, including but not limited to

• obtaining travel documents
• booking travel
• securing necessary financial and medical support
• communicating with RAP SPOs

As some cases are processed within a very short time frame, there may be instances where refugees arrive with little advance notification to the RAP SPO in Canada.

For more information, consult Resettlement: Preparation for departure to Canada.

Notification of individuals travelling on a TRP

Once travel arrangements are finalized and a Notification of Arrival (NAT) has been sent, the migration office must transfer the REF-OVS PR application in GCMS to ROC-O. Offices should ensure that all associated documentation has been uploaded to the GCMS application prior to transfer.

Finalization of the application from within Canada

People from UPP cases who travel on a TRP are considered members of the Protected Temporary Resident Class (PTRC) and are conferred refugee protection and protected person status once they arrived in Canada. They maintain their protected person status after being granted PR status in Canada.

Upon acceptance of the transfer, ROC-O is responsible for screening the application to determine the required next steps. ROC-O should liaise with the applicant or applicants and the local IRCC office (as indicated on the NAT) as soon as the individual or individuals have arrived in Canada to expedite the finalization of their PR application so it will be completed within one month, where possible.

Medical exam

For people from UPP cases who travelled on a TRP, ROC-O will need to assess whether the individual or individuals got an IME prior to their departure to Canada by reviewing the medical results in GCMS to determine if medical exams have been successfully passed by the RMO or if there are medical furtherance requests.

If an individual is required to undergo medical furtherance, ROC-O should contact the applicant and the local IRCC office advising them of the IME number and the date on which the client should see a panel physician in Canada.

If an individual hasn’t undergone an IME prior to departure, ROC-O will contact the applicant indicating that they must have an IME done by a panel physician in Canada.

Security clearance

The applicant, and their accompanying family members, if applicable, will not be required to undergo another security check if their security check is still valid. If the security clearance has expired, ROC-O will initiate a second clearance as necessary.

Criminality clearance

ROC-O is required to check biometric results in GCMS prior to the finalization of the application. The applicant, and their accompanying family members, if applicable, will not be required to undergo another criminality check if biometrics were collected prior to their departure.

Final decision and landing interview

Once the officer is satisfied that all admissibility requirements have been adequately met, a designated officer is required to make a final decision on the file. Once a decision has been made, the local IRCC office will be notified so they can schedule landing interviews.