f 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). The country offers refugee protection to those who have a fear of oppression and danger in they go back to their own country.
Refugee protection can be applied under these following two categories:
Refugee protection from inside Canada
Foreign nationals living in Canada, who have the fear of persecution and danger if they ever have to leave and go back to their own country, can get refugee protection from Canada. The risk could be torture, the risk of losing life or a cruel treatment or punishment.
Eligibility
In order to become eligible to make a refugee claim in Canada, you must follow some certain rules. After reviewing your application, the designated officers will decide whether they will refer it to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
IRB is an independent board that is responsible for handling these refugee-related issues. Besides, it determines who is a Convention refugee and who is a person in need of protection.
Convention refugee: people who live outside their home country and aren’t able to return because of a well-founded fear of oppression based on their race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a certain social group are known as convention refugees.
Person in need of protection: Foreign national, who lives in Canada and aren’t able to go back to his/her home country because of the risk of torture, losing a life, or facing any unusual or cruel punishment is called person in need of protection.
You know you are eligible to make a refugee claim if:
- No other country has already recognized you as a Convention refugee.
- You haven’t yet gained the protected person status in Canada.
- You didn’t enter Canada via the Canada-United States border (as per Safe Third Country Agreement).
- You don’t have any previous criminal records.
- You don’t have any previous refugee claim, which was rejected by the IRB or found not eligible.
- You are not under a removal order
Resettlement from outside Canada
Bringing refugees in Canada from outside the country is known as resettlement. In order to come to Canada as a refugee, you cannot apply directly; instead, you have to be referred by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), a designated referral organization, or a private sponsorship group.
The above organizations will not refer you unless you fall into one of these following two refugee classes:
Convention refugee abroad class
If you are currently living outside of your home country and it’s impossible for you to return due to some well-founded fears of oppression based on your religion, race, political views, nationality, or membership in a certain social group, you are in this class. If you have enough funds that are necessary to support yourself and your family after your arrival in Canada, you can still be a convention refugee.As a convention refugee, you can be sponsored by:
• The Canadian government.
• A group of people or an organization.
• A mix of both.
Country of asylum class
If you are currently living outside your country because of some civil wars or armed conflict in your country, or you had been denied basic human rights you are in the country of asylum class. Even if you have sufficient money to support yourself and your family after you arrive in Canada, you still belong to this category. As a country of asylum class refugee, you can be privately sponsored.