Changes to the pre-removal risk assessment for Iran
Ottawa, December 19, 2025—Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) closely monitors country conditions from a protection perspective and has noted the current situation in Iran. After hostilities between Israel and Iran escalated in June 2025, human rights conditions have deteriorated. As a result, some Iranian nationals could face risk if they are required to return to their country.
Iranian nationals who received a negative final decision on their asylum (refugee) claim from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada or the Federal Court between December 20, 2024, and December 19, 2025, may now be eligible to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA), as IRCC has provided an exemption to the 12-month waiting period. If IRCC refused someone’s PRRA during that period, they may now be eligible to apply for a secondary PRRA.
An accepted PRRA application prevents people from being removed back to a country where they have demonstrated they face risks like persecution, torture or other harm. In normal circumstances, people must wait 12 months after a negative decision on their asylum claim before they can apply for a PRRA. However, IRCC can waive this waiting period if there is a sudden and significant change in conditions in a claimant’s country of origin.
People must keep their PRRA application up to date and inform IRCC of any changes to their application. Being eligible to apply for a PRRA does not guarantee that someone will be able to stay in Canada. IRCC officers will continue to decide on each case individually, based on the information provided. People who are subject to a removal order for reasons of serious inadmissibility or who have been previously excluded from refugee protection may only be eligible for a restricted PRRA.
People from Iran who receive a final negative decision after December 19, 2025, are not eligible to apply for a PRRA for 12 months. This is because any recent changes in the situation in Iran would have already been considered during their asylum claim or PRRA process.