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

Last updated: May 19, 2020

On this page

• Refugee sponsors and refugees overseas waiting to be resettled
  • If you’ve sponsored refugees
  • Immigration loans
• Refugee claimants in Canada
  • Reschedule your refugee claimant interview
  • Get services with expired refugee documents
  • Get a work or study permit
• Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) application deadlines
  • If you can’t apply within the 15-day deadline
  • If you already applied, but can’t submit your supporting documents within the 30-day deadline
• COVID-19 information in multiple languages
• Updates and related links

Refugee sponsors and refugees overseas waiting to be resettled

Along with our resettlement partners, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration, we’ve temporarily paused our refugee resettlement programs impacted by the travel restrictions. We’ll resume resettling refugees as conditions permit.

If you’ve sponsored refugees

The Resettlement Operations Centre in Ottawa will contact you if the refugees you’re preparing to receive won’t be travelling. There will be no additional arrivals or new flight bookings until further notice. Individual notices on flight cancellations will be sent to you by email.

Immigration loans

IRCC is suspending its immigrant loan collection activities for a period of 6 months, until September 2020. Clients who have questions about their loan, want to suspend pre-authorized payments, or who want to make alternative arrangements for payments during this period, can contact IRCC at 1-800-667-7301.

Refugee claimants in Canada

Until further notice, IRCC offices in Canada will no longer

• 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.

Reschedule your refugee claimant interview

If you had an interview scheduled, we’ll contact you to let you know when your new interview will be.

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

Get services with expired refugee documents

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

Get a work or study permit

You won’t be able to get a free work or study permit until you 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 extension before your work or study permit expires.

Pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) application deadlines

We’re still accepting PRRA applications at this time.

If your contact information has changed since you arrived in Canada, tell us about it.

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