You can seek asylum in Canada if you are physically in the country or arriving at a Canadian border and you fear persecution, torture, or serious personal danger in your home country. You start the claim either with a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer at a port of entry or online through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) if you are already inside Canada. If an officer finds your claim eligible, it goes to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board, which decides your case at a hearing.
Who Qualifies for Protection
Canadian law recognizes two grounds. The first, under Section 96 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, is Convention refugee status: a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, where you are outside your country of nationality and unable or unwilling to rely on that country’s protection.1Department of Justice Canada. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act – Section 96
The second, under Section 97, is “person in need of protection.” This covers people who would personally face a danger of torture, a risk to their life, or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if returned. The word that does the work is personally. Showing that your country is generally dangerous is not enough; the risk has to target you.2Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Interpretation of Convention Refugee and Person in Need of Protection in the Case Law
Who Cannot Claim
Several situations make a claim ineligible before it ever reaches the RPD. You cannot make a new claim if you already have protected person status in Canada, if another country has recognized you as a Convention refugee and you can return there, or if you have a previous Canadian claim that was rejected, abandoned, or withdrawn. You are also ineligible if you are inadmissible on security grounds, for serious criminality, for organized crime, or for human rights violations.3Canada.ca. Meet the Requirements to Submit a Refugee Claim
Arriving from the United States
The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement generally requires asylum seekers to claim protection in the first safe country they reach. Since March 2023, the agreement applies across the entire land border, not only at official crossings. If you arrive from the U.S. and none of the exceptions apply, you will be returned. The exceptions include having a close family member in Canada who is a citizen, permanent resident, or protected person; being an unaccompanied minor under 18; and holding a valid Canadian visa, work permit, or study permit.4Canada.ca. Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement
How to Start the Claim
At the Border
When you arrive at a Canadian airport, land crossing, or seaport, tell the CBSA officer you want to claim refugee protection. The officer will take your photograph and fingerprints, verify your identity, run a security screening, and ask questions about your claim.5UNHCR Canada. Where to Claim Asylum? If the officer decides your claim is eligible, it is referred to the RPD.6Canada.ca. Claiming Refugee Protection (Asylum) at the Border When You Enter Canada
From Inside Canada
If you are already in Canada, you file through the IRCC portal. Create an account, complete the refugee claim application, and submit it electronically.7Government of Canada. Start a Claim Online – Claiming Refugee Protection (Asylum) from Within Canada You will then be scheduled for an eligibility interview and biometrics with an IRCC officer. If the officer finds the claim eligible, it goes to the RPD.8Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Step 1 – Make Your Claim
The Basis of Claim Form
The single most important document in your case is the Basis of Claim (BOC) form. It asks for your personal details, family information, and travel history, and it asks you to write a narrative explaining, in specific terms, why you fear returning home. The RPD member who decides your case reads this narrative before your hearing. Vague statements about conditions in your country carry far less weight than a concrete account of what happened to you.
If you claimed at a port of entry, you generally have 15 days from the day your claim is referred to submit the completed BOC form to the RPD.9Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Practice Notice on the Temporary Extension of Time Limits for Filing the Basis of Claim Form That is not much time to write a full narrative. Start immediately. For inland claims, the BOC and supporting documents are submitted through the IRCC portal as part of the application package, and you will also receive instructions for a required medical examination.
Evidence
Gather everything you can. Identity documents matter: passports, national ID cards, birth certificates. Evidence of persecution matters more: medical records of injuries, police reports, photographs, threatening messages, news articles about your situation. If you cannot produce identity documents, you can still succeed, but you will need to explain clearly why they are missing.
Translation
Every supporting document must be in English or French. Anything in another language has to be submitted with a translation, an affidavit from the translator confirming its accuracy, and a certified photocopy of the original.10Canada.ca. What Language Should My Supporting Documents Be In Untranslated documents are effectively invisible to the decision-maker.
The Hearing
Once your claim is with the RPD, the board schedules a hearing. Wait times have been long in recent years; expect many months. Check the IRB website for current estimates.
At the hearing, you appear before an RPD member, who is a decision-maker rather than a judge. You testify about your fear of persecution. You can and should have legal counsel with you. The member will ask questions to test whether your testimony is consistent with your BOC narrative and your documents, and may also weigh country condition reports and other objective evidence.
Contradictions between what you wrote in the BOC and what you say out loud are one of the most common reasons claims fail. After the hearing, the member often delivers a decision orally the same day, though some come later by mail. An accepted claim gives you “protected person” status. A refused claim can be challenged.
Living in Canada While You Wait
Refugee claimants qualify for the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP), which provides temporary coverage until you can move to a provincial or territorial plan. Coverage generally activates automatically based on your immigration status, and it includes basic medical care and supplemental benefits like dental, vision, counselling, assistive devices, and prescriptions.11Canada.ca. Interim Federal Health Program
There is no dedicated federal income support for refugee claimants. You may qualify for provincial social assistance on the same basis as other residents, but plan for the wait to be long and largely self-funded. Claimants can apply for a work permit, and given how long hearings take, getting legal advice on timing and requirements should be an early priority.
Getting Legal Help
The hearing is adversarial enough that small missteps sink otherwise genuine claims: inconsistent testimony, a missed deadline, missing evidence. Most provinces offer legal aid programs that cover refugee cases for people who meet income and eligibility rules, though funding and availability vary widely. Contact your province’s legal aid office as early as possible. Demand for immigration legal aid outstrips supply in most regions.
If the Claim Is Refused
A negative RPD decision is not necessarily the end, but every remaining option runs on a tight clock.
Appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division
Most failed claimants can appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD). The RAD can uphold the RPD decision, substitute its own, or send the case back for a new hearing. The deadline is typically 15 working days from notification of the RPD decision, so act at once if you intend to appeal.
Federal Court Judicial Review
If the RAD also refuses your claim, or if you cannot appeal to the RAD, you can apply to the Federal Court of Canada for judicial review within 15 days of the decision you are challenging. The court does not re-hear the case; it reviews whether the decision was fair and reasonable or whether the decision-maker erred. If the court finds a problem, it sends the case back for a new hearing.12Government of Canada. Apply to the Federal Court of Canada for Judicial Review
Pre-Removal Risk Assessment
If appeals fail and removal begins, a CBSA officer will tell you whether you qualify for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA). The PRRA looks at whether conditions have changed since your original hearing, such as new risks in your home country. In most cases, you must wait 12 months after your last negative decision before you can apply. You are excluded from a PRRA if your claim was found ineligible under the Safe Third Country Agreement, if another country already recognizes you as a Convention refugee, or if you are subject to extradition.13Canada.ca. Pre-Removal Risk Assessment – Who Can Apply
If every option is exhausted, you will be subject to a removal order and expected to leave. Staying in Canada without status after a final removal order creates serious problems for any future immigration application.
If the Claim Is Accepted
An accepted claim gives you protected person status, and you can then apply for permanent residence in Canada. The application becomes available once you are notified of your protected person status.14Government of Canada. Applying for Permanent Residence from Within Canada – Protected Persons and Convention Refugees (IMM 5205) Processing times vary, but filing promptly is sensible. Protected person status already gives you the right to remain and work in Canada while the permanent residence application is processed.