Claim refugee status from inside Canada: After you apply

On this page:

• If you make your claim at a port of entry
• If you submit your claim online
• Go to your appointment
• Go to your interview
• If your claim is eligible
• If your claim isn’t eligible

If you make your claim at a port of entry

There are 4 possible results when you make a claim at a port of entry. Your next steps will depend what our border officer decides to do after reviewing your claim.

1. The border services officer decides your claim is eligible

   You’ll receive a notice from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) about a hearing. You must

   • complete your medical exam, and
   • go to your hearing with the IRB
2. The officer schedules you for an interview

   You must

   • complete your medical exam, and
   • go to your scheduled interview
3. The officer tells you to complete your claim online

   You must

   • complete your claim online
   • complete your medical exam, and
   • go to your scheduled interview

   To complete your claim online, you’ll need

   • the application number on your acknowledgement of claim letter
   • the interview location the officer gave you
4. The officer decides your claim is not eligible

If you submit your claim online

After you submit your claim online, we’ll review it to make sure it’s complete. If it is, we’ll use your online account to send you:

• an acknowledgement of claim letter (which will help you get access to the Interim Federal Health Program and other services in Canada)
• instructions to complete your medical exam
• a letter with details about an in-person appointment, once we schedule it
  • You may not get this letter at the same time as your acknowledgement of claim letter. We’ll send it to you only once we schedule your appointment.

If your claim is incomplete, we’ll tell you what’s missing.

You’ll get an email if we update your account or upload a document for you. Make sure you check your email regularly.

If you made your claim at the port of entry and were told to complete it online

You must keep the acknowledgement of claim letter you received at the border and go to your scheduled interview. You won’t get a new letter or new interview details.

Go to your appointment

Make sure you bring your original passport or any other identification documents you have to your appointment.

During your appointment, we’ll

• review your application
• collect your fingerprints and photo (biometrics) and any required documents (if you haven’t already provided them)
• conduct your eligibility interview to decide if your claim is eligible (if we can)
• give you documents about next steps

If we don’t make a decision about your claim during this appointment, we’ll schedule you for an interview and give you the details. It’s mandatory to go to your interview.

Go to your interview

During your interview we’ll decide if your claim is eligible. If we decide it is, we’ll refer it to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

After the interview, we’ll give you a Refugee Protection Claimant Document that matches our decision about your claim. If your claim is eligible, we’ll also give you a confirmation of referral letter that confirms we referred your claim to the IRB. These documents will help you

• prove you are a refugee claimant in Canada
• get access to the Interim Federal Health Program and other services in Canada

If your claim is eligible

Go to your hearing

If we refer your claim to the IRB, the IRB will send you a notice to appear for a hearing. This notice will tell you

• where to go for your hearing
• when to get there
• when it starts

Find out how to prepare for your hearing in the IRB’s Claimant’s Guide.

After your hearing, the IRB will approve or refuse your refugee claim. Find out what to do after you get a decision.

After your hearing

After your refugee hearing, the IRB approves or rejects your refugee claim.

If the IRB accepts your claim, you get “protected person” status. This means you can stay in Canada, and you can apply to become a permanent resident of Canada.

If the IRB rejects your claim, you’ll have to leave Canada. You may be eligible to appeal the IRB’s decision. You may also have other options.

If your claim is not eligible

If your claim is ineligible, your claim won’t be referred to the IRB and you’ll be issued an enforceable removal order to leave Canada.