What Canada Does

As I have mentioned what it takes to be eligible for refugee status in canada, I felt it was appropriate to explain what happens after your application has been submitted, as well as what happens to refugees whose claims are accepted.

The Immigration and Refugee Board (sometimes shortened to IRB) reviews all applications of refugee status. When you first claim refugee status and enter Canada, you must undergo a medical exam.

IRB Logo

If Your Claim is Accepted:

If you are accepted as a refugee to Canada, you are given the status of protected person. This status allows you to stay in Canada. It is expected that you will apply for permanent residence status in Canada. You can apply for permission to work and attend school even while still waiting for your claim to be reviewed. Children are automatically sent to school. (As we saw, this is a huge reason that people wish to immigrate to Canada.) When you are given refugee status, you are given what is called “resettlement assistance”. This consists of someone meeting the refugee at their arrival, orientation to Canadian life, receiving household needs, settling them temporarily, helping them find a permanent settlement and supporting the refugee for one year or, if this comes first, when the person can support themselves. Funds can also be given to cover the cost of travel, documents like passports and medical exams.

If Your Claim is Not Accepted:

If your claim is not accepted by the IRB, you must leave Canada. In some situations, your application may be allowed to be reassessed, however, it is highly unlikely that your request will be accepted if you have been previously denied access. There are also other alternatives- you can apply to both the federal Court of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada for appeal. There are also instances where you can be allowed to stay in Canada based on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. This is where “sponsored spouses or partners must now live together in a legitimate relationship with their sponsor for two years from the day they receive permanent residence status in Canada.” (Government of Canada, 2012)

Government of Canada Logo

I was surprised at how many programs exist for refugees upon arrival to Canada. I knew that there were some assistance programs, but I didn’t realize that a refugee was supported for a full year. Although I still abhor the fact that so many innocent people are turned away unnecessarily, I do feel a bit better about the refugee policy knowing that if a refugee does get accepted to Canada, he or she receives a lot of aid. In my eyes, that offers some redemption to our policy. After reviewing this policy though, I do understand how expensive it must be to support a refugee and how some might begrudge such a massive expense when many are themselves struggling to pay their bills. I don’t necessarily like it, but I at least understand it a bit better.

If you would like to learn more about how refugees are accepted to canada, please visit http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/refugees/index.asp.

The top video is a Canadian lawyer explaining how tough the refugee policies in Canada really are, and advises refugees on how to apply for refugee status. The bottom video is a woman's story who became a Canadian refugee from Afghanistan. She explains how helpful the refugee integration program was upon her arrival to Canada. For more refugee and immigration stories, visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC50bi5fNoYQk11lWhfi3l4w