Refugees are people who have fled their countries because of a well-founded fear of persecution. They are not able to return home. They have seen or experienced many horrors. A refugee is different from an immigrant. An immigrant is a person who chooses to settle permanently in another country. Refugees are forced to flee.

If you have a fear of persecution in your own country due to some unavoidable circumstances, you can apply for asylum as a refugee in Canada (from within or outside of Canada). Canada offers refugee protection to those who have a fear of persecution, oppression and danger if they go back to their country of origin.

Refugee protection from within Canada

Foreign nationals living in Canada who have fear of persecution and danger to their life if they go back to their country of origin can get refugee protection in Canada…

Eligibility

In order to be eligible to make a refugee claim in Canada, you must follow certain rules. After reviewing your application, the designated officers will decide whether they will refer you to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).

IRB will decide whether to grand you refugee status and is an independent board that is responsible for handling refugee related issues. IRB will also determine whether you are a convention refugee or a person in need of protection

A Convention refugee

A Convention refugee is a person who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,

1. is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of each of those countries; or
2. not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.

Person in need of protection

A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their country or countries of nationality or, if they do not have a country of nationality, their country of former habitual residence, would subject them personally to:

• Danger of torture, as defined in Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture ) or
• Risk to their life or risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

Refugee protection from outside Canada

The Canadian refugee resettlement program is composed of two categories:

1. Government-assisted refugees, who receive support on their arrival from the government.
2. Privately sponsored refugees, who receive support from private groups

To qualify for resettlement in Canada, a refugee must:

• Be recognized as a refugee (or in a similar situation, as defined in the Canadian regulations)
• Not be barred on grounds of criminality, security risk, or danger to health
• Be considered capable of becoming “successfully established” in Canada
• Have no other reasonable prospect of a durable solution (that is they can’t go safely home, stay permanently with full rights in the country where they are or have an offer of resettlement to another country).
• Be supported financially, either by the government or by a private group.

Did you know?

Canada welcomes very few of the world’s refugees. Canada hosts about 1.5% of the world’s refugees, according to the UNHCR.

Did you know also know?

The world’s vast majority of refugees are in the Global South. Only a tiny minority of refugees are found in Canada and the rest of the wealthiest countries.