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

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.

Refugee claimants who are inside Canada

Until further notice, IRCC offices in Canada aren’t processing refugee protection claimant document (RPCD) renewals. Expired RPCDs are still considered valid.

If you’re already inside Canada, you can still make a refugee claim online.

Refugee claimant interview time

If you didn’t already have an interview scheduled, we’ll contact you once we’ve scheduled you for one.

We’ll contact you about a new interview time if you had a scheduled interview that we cancelled because of COVID-19.

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.

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

Applying 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, as per Section 162 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). This is the only way to guarantee that your removal order will be stayed, as per Section 232 of the IRPR.

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, with supporting documentation.

Applying after the 15-day deadline

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 within the 15-day deadline before June 22, 2021, but you were unable to submit your supporting documents within the 30-day deadline

• We’ll contact you to request the supporting documents.
  • You’ll have 30 days from the date we contact you to submit the information.

For applications received on or after June 22, 2021

After a CBSA officer tells you that you’re eligible for a PRRA, you have 15 days (per Section 162 of the IRPR) to submit your completed PRRA application and 30 days (per Section 162 of the IRPR) to submit your supporting documents.

If you are unable to submit supporting documents within 30 days because of COVID-19 disruptions, you must request an extension to submit documents at a later time with a reasonable explanation and proof of the explanation that would allow the application to remain open.

After the 30 days, officers will use their discretion to either grant an additional 30-day extension where a reasonable explanation and proof has been provided, or; make a final decision, where possible, with the information on file.

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