Canada is a safe option for people like refugees and has provided shelter to them throughout the years. A person in need of protection is someone who:

• Is at risk of suffering.
• Has a risk to their life.
• Has the risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

A convention refugee is a person fearing persecution based on their:

• Race,
• Religion,
• Political opinion,
• Nationality,
• Membership in a particular social group, such as women or people having a particular social direction.

If the above applies to you, you may be a refugee that can apply for protection from the Canadian government.

REQUIREMENTS

To apply as a refugee, you can contact us for a proper representation as no two cases are the same and quite complex. Consequently, it is suggested you keep the services of a competent professional.

Claiming Asylum in Canada

Individuals who present themselves at a Canadian port of entry, an inland Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) may claim asylum in Canada. From there, either the CBSA or IRCC agent will decide whether the individual is qualified to claim asylum or not. Besides a valid proof of persecution in their country, the individual will also go through certain checks such as biometric, biographic, security and criminality before being granted a refugee status in Canada.

Refugee Sponsorship

There are several refugee sponsorship programs through which the Canadians, their communities, and organizations can sponsor refugees and help them start a new life in Canada. These programs help refugees find a place to live, get financial, social, and emotional support, food, and clothing as they resettle and adapt to Canada.

One such refugee sponsorship program is the Groups of Five. It's a private sponsorship program with five or more Canadian citizens or permanent residents that sponsors one or more refugees to resettle within their community. These sponsors must be over the age of 18 and can only sponsor applicants with refugee status in Canada. Another semi-private sponsorship program is the Blended Visa Office-Referred Program in which private sponsors team with the Canadian Government to sponsor a United Nations Refugee Agency-identified refugee.

Further, corporations and organizations can also give a helping hand by sponsoring refugees as a Sponsorship Agreement Holder, a community sponsor for applicants with refugee status in Canada or via the Joint Assistance Sponsorship Program where organizations partner with the Canadian government to sponsor refugees with special needs.

Appealing a Decision

If your asylum claim is rejected under unfortunate circumstances, you will have to leave Canada and return to your country. You may, however, apply to appeal this decision to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) at the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada within 15 days of getting the written decision from the RAD. You will have 30 days from getting the written decision of denial to file and Appellants Record. The RAD will decide on your appeal within 90 days unless an oral hearing is needed.

Humanitarian and Compassionate

The Canadian immigration system can consider special cases where the candidate would generally not qualify under an immigration program. Due to the unique circumstances of such cases, the candidate can get particular consideration and exemptions based on Humanitarian and Compassion (H&C) grounds.

Though this appeal is the last resort and has limited degrees of success. Additionally, the Canadian government has introduced regulations to prevent its exploitation from people other than those it's intended for, thus making this type of application much more difficult.

REQUIREMENTS

To qualify for an H&C appeal, the officials will examine your application on a case-by-case basis as every case is unique and will be treated as such. Some of the issues that will be examined are as follows:

• How settled the person is in Canada.
• General family ties to Canada.
• The best interests of any children involved.
• What could happen to the applicant if the request is not approved.

Since this category has been subjected to frequent changes to prevent its exploitation as has been the case in the past, the following items are important and noted on the CIC website:

• You can only request H&C while applying for the PR status in Canada or its permanent resident visa abroad. Hence, the H&C requests from temporary resident applicants will be rejected.
• You cannot have more than one H&C application at the same time.
• The H&C decision-makers will not analyze risk factors including persecution, the risk to life, cruelty, and other unusual treatments or punishments.
• You cannot apply for H&C if you have a pending refugee claim.
• You also cannot apply for H&C if you had a negative decision from the IRB within the last 12 months.