IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2025-05

Asylum System

Context

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports 130.8M people were forcibly displaced at the end of 2024. Canada faces a significant rise in volumes of claims resulting in increasing pressure on the asylum system. There were over 92,000 claims in 2022, over 144,000 in 2023, and over 173,000 in 2024. However, claims are down slightly in 2025, and are coming increasingly from inland rather than at the border—Between January 1 and February 28, 2025, the total asylum claims were 19,660. In contrast to 2024, asylum claims have decreased so far in 2025 by 36% from January to February 2025.

Background

• Canada’s asylum system reflects our domestic legal framework, international obligations, and humanitarian traditions. Once in Canada, individuals have a right to seek asylum and may not be returned to a country of persecution (“non-refoulement”).
• As a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Canada has a responsibility to offer a safe haven to those in need of protection and cannot restrict a person from making a claim. As a result, there is no cap on the number of claims that can be received in any given year, volumes can fluctuate and are affected by various factors, including domestic and international pressures.
• While any foreign national can submit a claim for refugee protection, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will review the application to determine whether the claim is eligible to be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). This means some claims may be determined ineligible on grounds such as for security.
• Claimants typically arrive as temporary residents (e.g. visitors, students, workers) but some arrive irregularly (i.e. between designated ports of entry).
• Claims can be made:
  • To the CBSA at a Port of Entry (airport, land border or marine port)
  • To IRCC at an inland office (including online).
• Eligibility criteria are set out in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and are applied by the CBSA at ports of entry and inland offices, or by IRCC at inland offices.
• Eligible claims are referred to the IRB for decision to grant refugee protection.
• Refugees must have a well-founded fear of persecution on the basis of:
  • Race; religion; nationality; political opinion; and/or membership in a particular social group; and
  • Face a risk of torture or risk to life, or cruel and unusual treatment, or punishment.
• Those whose claims are approved become protected persons and may apply for permanent resident status. As protected persons, they are eligible to sponsor family members to come to Canada.
• Stakeholders have raised concerns with respect to the delays in family reunification for protected persons and their dependent family members abroad. As of December 2024, the processing time was 53 months.
• Those determined ineligible or whose claims are denied (failed claimants) are subject to removal from Canada, once all recourse mechanisms are exhausted.
• With certain exceptions, persons facing removal from Canada are eligible to apply for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) prior to their removal from Canada.
• For most applicants, a positive PRRA determination (i.e. a determination that the applicant may be at risk of persecution or mistreatment) will result in protected person status. If the decision is negative, CBSA will resume the removal process.

Implementing the System—a Shared Responsibility

• Federal Partners
  • IRCC: Overall mandate for the asylum system; policy direction, guiding implementation, monitoring, reporting and delivering some parts of the program (e.g., claim intake, work permit issuance, etc.).
  • IRB: Independent administrative tribunal; refugee claim determination and appeals.
  • CBSA: Enforcement policies; leading various security and enforcement activities (e.g. security screening, removal of failed claimants).
  • Federal Court: Judicial review of decisions made by the IRB and IRCC.
• In terms of supports, the federal government issues work permits to asylum claimants and provides coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program.
• Provinces and territories provide social assistance, education, emergency housing, and legal aid while the asylum claim is pending.
• Municipalities may also provide supports, such as temporary shelter.

Canada-United States (U.S.) Safe Third Country Agreement

• Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is a bilateral treaty requiring foreign nationals to pursue refugee protection in the first safe country they arrive in (U.S. or Canada). Those entering Canada from the U.S. are returned to the U.S. (and vice versa), unless they qualify for an exception or an exemption.
• Between 2004–March 2023, the STCA only applied at official land ports of entry. In March 2023, application expanded to the entire Canada-U.S. land border, including internal waterways through the Additional Protocol to STCA.
• Changes to STCA were needed post-2017 following a surge of irregular arrivals (approximately 40,000 in 2022) and to ensure consistent treatment of claimants arriving via the land border. STCA changes have deterred irregular crossings as seen by the significant reduction in volumes: approximately 17,000 in 2023 and less than 4,500 in 2024.
• With the Additional Protocol, the STCA extended to persons crossing:
  • Between ports of entry;
  • Internal waters along the border (not coastal waters);
  • and who make an asylum claim within 14 days of crossing (N.B. STCA does not apply to claims made after 14 days).
• Who is still eligible?
  • STCA exempt—U.S. or Canadian citizens or stateless individuals who are considered former habitual residents thereof.
  • Four categories of exceptions outlined in the Agreement:
    • Family member in Canada (most used);
    • Unaccompanied minors;
    • Document holders (e.g. valid temporary resident visa);
    • Public interest exceptions (currently one—facing the death penalty in the U.S. or in a third country).
• “Family member” is defined in the STCA under Article 1.1(b) to mean “the spouse, sons, daughters, parents, legal guardians, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews”, which is a broader definition of family than outlined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), which defines family only as “spouse or common-law partner, dependent child or dependent child of a dependent child”.
• Individuals eligible under the STCA are still subject to all other IRPA admissibility and eligibility requirements.
• STCA is based on recognition that both countries maintain a commitment to human rights and have robust refugee protection systems that meet international standards—enabling responsibility sharing for asylum claims along the border.
• IRPA sets out factors U.S. must meet to maintain its designation as a safe third country and requires ongoing review of those factors to ensure that requirements continue to be met. The Minister has been delegated this responsibility and, per a 2015 Directive through an Order in Council, reports to the Governor-in-Council when circumstances warrant.

Recent Developments

System timelines are showing significant strain

• Asylum claims rose steadily to 64,020 claims in 2019, dipped to under 25,000 claims during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, but have increased from over 92,000 claims in 2022 to 173,000 in 2024.
  • Overall asylum claim numbers across all modes are down significantly month over month from the same period in 2024. That said, recently there has been an increase in asylum claims being made at the Canada/U.S. border.[Redacted]
• The inventory of claims awaiting a decision by the IRB rose from 70,223 at the end of 2022 to 272,440 at the end of 2024—given the current inventory and throughput, claimants could wait as long as 3.7 years to have claims decided.
• For inland claims, the top source countries include Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, and Mexico. For land border claims, the top source countries include Haiti, Columbia, and Venezuela with Haitians being the primary source country meeting the STCA family exception.

System Enhancements and Capacity

• Various policy measures and operational adjustments have been implemented to enhance the efficiency of the asylum system such as funding for provinces and territories to support interim housing and services, expanding digital processing capabilities and streamlining eligibility assessments. The re-imposition of visa on Mexico, and the implementation of the Additional Protocol for the Safe Third Country Agreement have also helped address non-genuine asylum claims.
• IRCC is continuing to explore options to improve the efficiency of Canada’s asylum system within the framework of our international obligations and humanitarian traditions, without compromising fairness and compassion for those in need of protection.

Key Service Delivery Statistics

Claims received between January 2024 and February 2025

January 2024: 14.8k
February 2025: 9.1k

Top 5 source countries (Jan to Feb)

Compared to same period last year

India: 3.7K (-9%)
Iran: 1.2K (-19%)
Haiti: 1.2K (-16%)
Nigeria: 1.2K (-55%)
Mexico: 0.8K (-77%)

Claims received by Province

Claim received by Mode YTD

Percent with Prior TR

2024: 87%
2025 (Jan to Feb): 84%

Processing Times

80% of eligibility decisions have been finalized in.