COW – Asylum – June 9, 2025

Key Facts and Figures

Asylum Claim Volumes

• Between January and April 30, 2025, total asylum claims across Canada have fallen by 36% compared to the same period last year.
• There was a spike of land border claims from the end of March to mid-April 2025 at Lacolle, Quebec. However, overall asylum volumes to Quebec are 38% lower than this period last year.
• The volume of irregular claims in 2024 decreased by 75% compared to 2023.
  • Irregular claims continued to decrease, with volumes from January to April 2025 roughly 34% lower than the same period last year.

Temporary Residents (TR)

• Between January to April 30, 2025, roughly 35% of claimants had been issued Temporary Resident Visas, compared to approximately 60% of claimants during the same period in 2024.
• Roughly 80% of claims made in 2024 by prior permit holders were made within a year of approval of their permit. This is down from roughly 88% in 2023.
  • Increased program integrity efforts by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) appear to be having an effect. In the first four months of 2025, roughly 55% of claims were made within a year of approval.
• There are roughly 700,000 people currently in Canada holding student related permits (both study and work) which are set to expire between June 2025 and June 2026.

Protected Persons in Canada

• A Protected Person in Canada (PPiC) is someone that the government has determined is at risk of persecution or harm if returned to their country of origin.
• Protected persons are permitted to live and work in Canada indefinitely, but do not enjoy the same benefits and privileges as a permanent resident—such as sponsoring dependent relatives abroad for immigration to Canada.
• The Multi-Year Immigration Levels Plan sets targets for protected persons and their dependent relatives seeking permanent residence at 20,000 in 2025 and 18,000 in both 2026 and 2027.
• As of April 30, 2025, the processing times for PPiC applications for permanent residence were 30 months for those residing outside Quebec and 45 months for those in Quebec, with a total inventory of more than 119,000 applications from protected persons, not including the additional applications from dependent relatives.
• This inventory is projected to grow by at least 29,000 applications each year as the number of asylum seekers granted protected status outpaces current Levels Plan targets.

Work Permits (WP) for Asylum Claimants

• Since the implementation of the temporary public policy on November 16, 2022, to accelerate the issuance of WPs for asylum claimants, more than 310,800 work permits have been approved as of the end of April 2025.
• As of April 30, 2025, there are 4,600 asylum claims pending an eligibility decision in which the claimant has requested a work permit.
• As of April 30, 2025, the overall time from the date of submission of the claim to approval of the work permit is 68 days.
  • Furthermore, the processing time is 40 days following the eligibility decision and completion of the Immigration Medical Examination.
• On average, 1,500 WPs were approved per week over the four weeks preceding April 30, 2025.

Key Messages

Asylum Claim Volumes

• Canada’s asylum system is designed to uphold both its domestic legal obligations and its international commitments under the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol. Every foreign national in Canada has the right to seek protection, irrespective of their mode of entry.
• The asylum claim volumes in any given year can fluctuate unpredictably and are affected by various factors, including domestic and international pressures.
• There is no cap on the number of asylum claims Canada can accept. Canada has an international obligation to ensure that all individuals submitting claims for protection have their cases heard and receive due process.
• Canada has seen an increase in the number of asylum claims it has received year-over-year for a number of reasons, including global instability and conflict.

Temporary Residents

• An asylum claimant’s previous temporary resident status does not preclude them from having a genuine fear of persecution based on their identity, political or social affiliation and the specific conditions of their country of nationality.
• Measures to address the overall number of TRs in Canada and to improve the integrity of our temporary programs have supported the integrity of the asylum system, by helping mitigate the volume of claims entering the system.
• The government implemented several measures, including:
  • A partial visa reimposition on Mexico in February 2024. Between January 1 and April 30, 2025, there has been a 66% decrease in asylum claims made by Mexican nationals when compared to the same period in 2024.
  • In summer 2024, IRCC developed a comprehensive strategy to adapt to the new high-risk migration context and address misuse and irregular migration by temporary residents. Under the strategy, IRCC has devoted additional time and resources to screening, adjusted its approach to automation, and enhanced its tools to detect fraud and reduce the number of non-genuine visitors, while also taking action on visas already in circulation when fraud is suspected.
  • Actions under the strategy dramatically decreased illegal southbound migration into the United States by 98% since June 2024. The strategy also resulted in promising reductions in the number of non-genuine visitors.
• IRCC continues to monitor the volume of claims being made by temporary residents in order to update risk-related guidance for its various temporary programs, or for signs of misuse of the asylum system.

PPiCs

• A person is considered to be an asylum claimant until a decision is rendered by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). Claims receiving a decision today will have waited at the IRB for approximately 16 months, but given current inventories, claims received today will be expected to wait much longer before receiving a decision.
• Upon receiving a positive decision from the IRB, the individual is recognized as a protected person and is eligible to submit an application for permanent residence.
• In Canada, an individual may be recognized as needing protection through a positive decision from the IRB or as a result of a favorable Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) decision from IRCC.
• Unlike temporary residents, protected persons can reside in Canada indefinitely without the need to extend or renew their status, as long as they maintain this designation.
• Once recognized as a protected person, individuals may submit an application for permanent residence. This process is separate and distinct from the initial process to seek protection.
  • Protected persons can include their dependent relatives on their applications for permanent residence. However, IRCC only processes the dependent relative’s application after the protected person’s application is approved.
• Permanent resident admissions for protected persons and their dependent relatives are set out in the Multi-Year Immigration Levels Plan.

WPs for Asylum Claimants

• Work permits are processed promptly once the necessary requirements are met, including a determination of eligibility and completion of a medical exam.
• The temporary public policy to provide asylum claimants with timely access to open work permits allows them to enter the labour market sooner while they await a decision on their asylum claim.
• As IRCC explores opportunities to facilitate connections to employment for asylum claimants, partnerships will be critical to ensuring efforts are successful. For example, IRCC is collaborating with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) to encourage claimants to create profiles on the Job Bank platform, and IRCC is equally working with Canadian employers to connect asylum claimants with labour needs across the country.

Supplementary Information

• The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides basic and supplemental healthcare coverage, as well as prescription drug coverage, to asylum claimants for the full duration of the refugee determination process, from the point of making their claim in Canada until they become eligible for provincial or territorial (PT) health insurance or, in the case of unsuccessful claimants, leave Canada.

PPiCs

• Asylum claimants who have been granted PPiC are eligible for continued IFHP coverage for an additional 90 days from the date their asylum claim or PRRA is approved and they are conferred protected status. As PPICs are eligible for PT insurance in most jurisdictions, this 90-day period serves as a bridge during which time the protected person is meant to apply for PT insurance and represents the average PT wait-time of three months to receive Medicare. IFHP coverage may be extended beyond 90 days on a case-by-case basis.
• PPiCs are eligible for federally funded settlement services. These services aim to improve official language skills to help clients achieve their integration goals and provide them with the information required to make informed decisions, supports required to seek employment, assistance in building networks within communities, and the support services necessary for vulnerable clients to access these services.

WPs for Asylum Claimants

• Asylum claimants can apply for an open work permit, which allows them to work for any employer in Canada, with no limitations on the type of occupation or work location.
• To be issued a WP, asylum claimants must have made an asylum claim in Canada and be eligible to be referred to the IRB, as well as having met a few other conditions such as submitting biometrics and a medical examination.
• On February 22, 2024, ESDC approved changes to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. These changes included expanding employer recruitment obligations to include asylum claimants before a Labour Market Impact Assessment can be issued. This change will help encourage employers to consider claimants as a potential source of labour in Canada.