Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Refugees, asylum claimants, sponsors and PRRA applicants

Quarantine and COVID-19 testing

Before refugees leave for Canada, they attend a Canadian Orientation Abroad session with the IOM. This session provides refugees with information on how they can monitor their health and prevent the spread of COVID-19. Refugees are also

• told about the 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Canada, and
• given information about the supports they’ll receive from Resettlement Assistance Program service provider organizations or their private sponsor

As an added precaution, refugees undergo a fitness-to-fly check for COVID-19 signs and symptoms with an IOM nurse or doctor. This check is done 24 to 72 hours before their flight.

Resettled refugees come to Canada by air and, like all international travellers, are tested before boarding and upon arrival in Canada. They must also follow all quarantine requirements.

If you’re a refugee overseas waiting to travel to Canada

Before you travel to Canada, make sure you know the rules and what you need to do before and after you arrive:

• Quarantine or isolation plan
• COVID-19 testing for travellers
• Requirements for flying to Canada
• Mandatory hotel stay for all air travellers

If you already sponsored refugees

We’ll contact you when the refugees you’re waiting for are ready to travel. Once we do, make sure everyone in your sponsorship group agrees that you’re ready to welcome and support the refugees you’ve sponsored.

If you’re sponsoring through a sponsorship agreement holder, discuss your plans with them. Make sure they agree before you tell us to proceed with the refugees’ travel plans.

You’ll need to confirm that you’re ready to welcome your sponsored refugees. This includes having a quarantine plan. You must provide us with a copy of the quarantine plan for the refugees you sponsored before travel will be booked. You should also share your quarantine plan with the refugees you sponsored so they know what to expect when they get here.

When the refugees you sponsored land in Canada, they’ll stay in government-authorized accommodation for their first 3 nights, while they wait for the results of their COVID-19 test. A government-funded resettlement service provider will coordinate the hotel bookings and transportation to the hotel.

You may need to help them complete their daily ArriveCAN check-in. This includes the first few days they are in Canada, before they arrive in your community.

Once they receive a negative COVID-19 test result, they’ll continue to their final destination. When they arrive, they must complete the 14-day quarantine period, or a longer quarantine period, as required by the health authorities in your region. If they’re already in the community where they will stay, you should pick the refugees up from the hotel. If they need to travel to their final destination, you should plan to pick the refugees up when they arrive.

If they receive a positive COVID-19 test result, they will be transferred to a designated Public Health Agency of Canada quarantine facility in the city where they land. This will be paid for by the Government of Canada.

We’ve made a fact sheet to help refugees understand what they’ll have to do when they get to Canada. You can download it in multiple languages and share it with the refugees you’re sponsoring.

See the Travel Resumption Resource Kit for Refugee Sponsors for help in preparing for the arrival of your sponsored refugees.

Immigration loans

As of October 2020, we started sending out immigration loan statements of accounts again.

Contact us at 1-800-667-7301 if you

• have questions about your loan
• want to suspend pre-authorized payments
• want to make other payment plans for this period

Refugee claimants in Canada

Until further notice, IRCC offices in Canada won’t

• interview refugee claimants in person
• process refugee protection claimant document (RPCD) renewals

You can still make a refugee claim if you’re already inside Canada by sending us an email.

Make a refugee claim inside Canada

Get a new refugee claimant interview time

We’ll contact you about an interview time if

• you already had an interview scheduled that we cancelled because of COVID-19
• you submitted a refugee claim between March 16 and July 7, 2020, using
  • our refugee claim email address
  • an IRCC office drop box

Use the Web form if you need to update your contact information.

Get services if your refugee documents are expired, lost or were stolen

Expired RPCDs should be considered valid until further notice. You can use your acknowledgement of claim letter or RPCD (valid or expired) to prove you’ve made a refugee claim.

If your RPCD was lost or stolen, send an email to IRCC.RPCDLostStolen-DDAPerduVole.IRCC@cic.gc.ca. The subject line of your email should say if your RPCD was lost or stolen.

After we get your email, we’ll invite you to sign up for Canada Post’s epost Connect^TM service. We’ll communicate with you using this secure service to help you with your lost or stolen RPCD.

We can’t replace RPCDs right now. We can only provide temporary documents.

When our offices re-open, we’ll contact you using epost Connect to set up an appointment to replace your RPCD.

Get a work or study permit

You won’t be able to get a free work or study permit until you’ve had your refugee claim interview and completed an immigration medical exam.

If you already have a valid permit, you can keep using it. You can also apply for an extension before your work or study permit expires.

If you’re a refugee claimant providing direct care to patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

As of December 14, 2020, we have a new application process for refugee claimants working in Canada’s health-care sector to apply for permanent residence.

You can apply if you meet the eligibility requirements and you’re

• a pending or failed refugee claimant who made a refugee claim in Canada prior to March 13, 2020, and who still lives in Canada, or
• the spouse or common-law partner of an eligible refugee claimant if
  • the refugee claimant contracted COVID-19 and passed away from it
  • you have been in Canada since before August 14, 2020

Transfer your existing humanitarian and compassionate consideration application

You can ask us to review your application under this process instead if

• your application is still pending (we’re still processing it and haven’t made a decision on it)
• you meet the eligibility requirements

Learn about this process and how to apply.

Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) application deadlines

We’re still accepting PRRA applications at this time. We’ve also added the option to submit and communicate about your application online.

Find out how to

• submit your PRRA application
• update your contact information if it’s changed since you arrived in Canada

If you can’t apply within the 15-day deadline

A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer will tell you if you’re eligible to apply for a PRRA. If you’re eligible, you then have 15 days to submit a complete application. This is the only way to guarantee that your removal order will be stayed.

If you can’t submit a complete PRRA application within the 15 days because of COVID-19 disruptions,

• submit what you can within the deadline
  • For example, submit an unsigned or partially completed form.
• include a letter with your application explaining why you couldn’t complete or sign your application

If we get your application after the 15-day deadline,

• we’ll process it
• your removal order won’t be stayed
• you can contact the CBSA office working on your case to find out how you’re affected

If you already applied, but can’t submit your supporting documents within the 30-day deadline

After a CBSA officer tells you that you’re eligible for a PRRA, you have 30 days to submit other documents to support your application.

If you couldn’t submit supporting documents within 30 days because of COVID-19 disruptions,

• you don’t need to contact us
• we’ll automatically contact you to give you a new 30-day period
  • We’ll only contact you after the situation improves enough that you can gather supporting documents effectively.

We won’t make a decision on your case until after your new 30-day period is over.

Updates and related links

• Find more information on COVID-19
• Public Health Agency of Canada: COVID-19 information (available in multiple languages)
• Canada provides update on exemptions to travel restrictions to protect Canadians and support the economy