New online refugee claims portal improves client service

September 13, 2022—Ottawa—The Government of Canada has made significant investments to improve client services, including by improving the efficiency and capacity of its asylum system.

Beginning September 13, 2022, individuals in Canada wishing to make a refugee claim can do so online through the new eApp. The new online asylum application will replace the Canadian Refugee Protection Portal and become the primary way for individuals to make a refugee claim in Canada. The new eApp is only applicable for those who are already in Canada.

Through this secure platform, officers will be able to communicate directly with clients or their legal representative. Claimants will also have the ability to track the status of their application. By making the registration and refugee intake process at inland offices more efficient, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada continues to work toward improving client services and the refugee claim processing.

Anyone wishing to make an in-Canada claim for refugee protection can submit their documents and those of their family members who are also in Canada. Applicants will have 90 days to submit a claim once it has been opened. For privacy reasons, incomplete claims that are not submitted within 90 days will be deleted.

Individuals who started a claim in the Canadian Refugee Protection Portal on or before September 12, 2022, but have not yet submitted it will have until December 31, 2022, to do so. Individuals requiring accommodations may still make a paper claim. Each request for accommodations will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The new eApp is part of our continued work to strengthen Canada’s immigration system, which includes our commitment to hire up to 1,250 new employees by the end of this fall to reduce application backlogs. We will continue to strengthen our immigration system and ensure that it works well for all, including for the world’s most vulnerable.

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