CIMM – Overview – Asylum System – November 29, 2022
- Individuals can make a refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry upon arrival or online if already in Canada. The Acknowledgement of Claim (AOC) is issued when a complete claim application is received. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officials will determine if a claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) for a hearing and issue a Refugee Protection Claim document (RPCD). If the claimant also requests a work permit, the permit will be issued once the claim is determined as eligible and other conditions are met.
- A claim is not eligible to be referred to the RPD if it falls under paragraph 101(1)(a) to (f) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). People whose refugee claims are ineligible may be eligible to apply for a Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA).
- Individuals whose refugee claims are ineligible pursuant to A101(1)(e) of the IRPA should be removed to the U.S.A.. They are not entitled to apply for a PRRA.
- Refugee claims cannot be determined ineligible under paragraph A101(1)(f) of the IRPA until the person’s admissibility has been determined conclusively by the Immigration Division of the IRB.
- Refugee claimants undergo health and security screening, including biographic and/or biometric checks as well as the initiation of security and criminality checks.
- Eligible claims then go through the triage process to determine if there are indications of inadmissibility, including criminality, safety, security, or credibility concerns that may warrant the Minister’s participation in a claim.
- The IRB considers whether the claimant meets the United Nations (UN) definition of a Convention refugee or is a person in need of protection. Upon receiving a positive decision on their refugee claim, claimants receive protected person status. If a claim is rejected by the RPD, individuals may be able to appeal the decision to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) of the IRB. If they have no right to appeal to the RAD, they can ask the Federal Court to review the decision. The Minister can also appeal the RPD decision to grant refugee protection.
- A positive PRRA decision also results in protected person status for the individual in most cases. This means that individuals can stay in Canada. However, if the PRRA application is rejected, and all legal avenues of recourse have been exhausted, they must leave Canada or be removed by the CBSA.
Intake
Regular and Irregular claimants go through the same process.
Irregular migrants are intercepted by RCMP after entering Canada between Ports of Entry.
Security Screening – All claimants are screened to ensure they do not pose a threat to Canada.
At POEs claimants undergo an examination and interview.
Every claimant undergoes Front-End Security Screening, which includes:
- checking police records, US/Canada watch lists, and info from M5 partners,
- fingerprint search against criminal and immigration databases.
Port of Entry (POE) – claim is registered by a CBSA officer.
Inland – claim is registered by an IRCC officer.
In both cases, officers:
- Take fingerprints and photos;
- Determine eligibility; and
- Provide claimants with conditions to follow and access to services (Interim Federal Health, services from provinces, municipalities)
Over 95% of claims are found Eligible to be referred to the IRB.
A claim may be ineligible for many reasons (e.g. previous claim in Canada).
In June 2019, a new ineligibility was created for people who previously claimed in a country with an information sharing agreement with Canada.
Triage
All claims are triaged and reviewed.
CBSA focuses on criminality and security issues.
IRCC focuses on credibility and fraud detection.
IRB triages claims among different streams (e.g. expedited).
IRB also submits inquiries to IRCC and CBSA to collect information on claims.
Integrated Claim Analysis Centre – pilot project to better coordinate the review of claims and prepare “hearing ready” files for the IRB.
Pilot will process approx. 55% of the national caseload.
Adjudication
The IRB is an independent tribunal.
Refugee Protection Division makes first-level decisions on claims.
Recourse
Refugee Appeal Division hears appeals of asylum decisions.
Appeals can be submitted by both claimants or Government.
Claimants can apply to Federal Court to review any decision made at any point in the asylum process.
Removals
A Pre-Removal Risk Assessment is conducted for people whose claims are rejected to ensure it is safe for them to be returned to the country of removal.
Some people whose claims are ineligible to be heard by the IRB will have access to a PRRA instead.
In most cases, a person cannot apply for a PRRA until 12 months after their last negative decision, including Federal Court.
Removals – failed claimants are expected to depart Canada and are subject to removal by the CBSA.
Acknowledgement Of Claim (AOC)
- Regardless of method of intake, as soon as a claim is determined to be complete and if an RPCD cannot be issued that day, an Acknowledgement of Claim (AOC) is issued.
- The AOC is a temporary status document that:
- confirms that a claim has been made
- shows that the claimant is covered under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) and
- should enable the claimant to apply for social services.
- The AOC is issued within 5 days of making a claim inland or as soon as a claim is made at a POE (if an RPCD cannot be issued same day), to ensure that every claimant can immediately access all required FPT social services.
Refugee Protection Claimant Document (RPCD) – Aka “Brown Paper”
- The RPCD is the primary identification and status document issued to asylum claimants in Canada.
- The RPCD is a secure identity document (with photo) that also:
- shows that the claim has been referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) or that the claim is ineligible to be referred
- shows that the claimant is covered under the IFHP and
- should enable the claimant to apply for social services.
- The issuance of the Refugee Protection Claimant Document (RPCD) is the last step in the refugee intake process, once the conditional removal order has been issued, following an in-person interview.
Since the legislative changes made to refugee intake on June 21, 2019, issuing the AOC automatically triggers IFHP coverage in GCMS. That said, recognizing that some PTs, Municipalities, Educational Institutions, Landlords, Employers, and Service Providers remain more familiar with the RPCD than the AOC, IRCC commits to engaging with all relevant stakeholders to increase acceptance of the AOC. IRCC is also pursuing options to accelerate issuance of the RPCD (the new WP PP should facilitate early issuance of the RPCD to claimants who provide the required information) and also to digitize the RPCD as part of the Asylum Interoperability Project (AIP).
IRCC Inland Process – Intake of asylum claims
- Step1: Once inside Canada, a claim for refugee protection may be initiated by using the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) Portal to complete questions and submit documentation online.
- Step 2: the Acknowledgement of Claim (AOC) and Immigration Medical Exam forms are issued to the claimant within 5 days, 80% of the time, once the application has been verified as complete.
- Step 3: IRCC staff then reviews the submission, flags possible errors requiring correction, conducts name-based criminal record checks against the RCMP, Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) system, initiates the security screening, and schedules an appointment with the claimant for biometrics collection and seizure of identity documents.
- Step 4: Claimants come into the office to provide fingerprints and photos (biometrics) and any required documents. When documents are seized, staff will sign the Notice of Seizure form and provide the client with certified copies of the seized documents.
- Step 5: An officer will then conduct a thorough review of the document and assess whether the claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). If a work permit is requested by the claimant, it will now be processed once the claim is found eligible and other conditions are met but before being referred to the IRB, as per the current public policy (as of November 16, 2022). Since 2019, IRCC has been committed to a service standard of 80% of eligibility decisions within 30 days of intake. It has been a challenge to meet the standard lately, due to unusually high asylum claim volumes.
- Step 6: IRCC staff will schedule an appointment for an interview with the claimants and arrange for an interpreter.
- Step 7: An Officer conducts the interview, completes the Minister’s Delegate review with the claimant and issues an appropriate removal order. Conditions are imposed on the claimant.
- Step 8: If the claim is eligible, a “Final” referral decision is then updated in the Global Case Management System (GCMS), which triggers the electronic referral of the claim to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) and creates the Refugee Protection Claimant Document (RPCD) and Confirmation of Referral.
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