Refugee Protection Division

Overview of Refugee Claims before the Refugee Protection Division

The Refugee Protection Division is a tribunal branch of the Immigration and Refugee Board. The Refugee Protection Division hears matters from individuals claiming protected person status. Claims can be made at an IRCC or CBSA office in Canada or a Port of Entry, such as an airport or border. You may also make a claim from outside of Canada, but such claims are not processed by the Refugee Protection Division, they are processed by IRCC. Claims for refugee status are made under two categories: a convention refugee or a person in need of protection.

The first step is the intake in which the CBSA officer will determine eligibility for a refugee claim, including ensuring you are not inadmissible. A Basic of Claim (BOC) form that details all the information of the claim is made with the same significance and effect as a statement made under oath (although changes and/or additions to the BOC form can be at a later date, but material changes may lead to adverse inferences). Documents to establish identity as well as evidence to support the claim will be required. Where that information cannot be produced the claimant will be asked to explain why and what steps were taken to obtain the evidence.

If a claim is made at a port of entry the original BOC form must be provided to the Refugee Protection Division within 15 days from when the claim is made. If the claim is made in-land, the BOC form must be submitted to the officer before whom the claim is made. The officer has 3 days to determine if the claim is eligible for referral to the Refugee Protection Division. Where the officer fails to make a determination within 3 days, the claim is considered eligible. The CBSA officer may suspend the assessment if a report is made alleging inadmissibility concerns on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality, organized criminality or the officer is waiting for the Court to make a decision on an offence the claimant has been charged with that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years or more. If the claim is found eligible, the claimant will be allowed to remain in Canada for the duration of the processing of the refugee claim.

Upon claiming protected person status, the claimant must appear for a hearing and has the burden to establish that the claimant is a convention refugee or a person in need of protection (although it is possible that the Minister grants refugee status without a hearing before the Refugee Protection Division).

Convention Refugees

A convention refugee is someone who has proved to the Refugee Protection Division that they are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin or country of previous residence because they have a well-founded fear of persecution based on:

a) Race

b) Religion

c) Nationality

d) Political opinion

e) Being a member of a specific social group

Person in need of Protection

A person in need of protection is someone who has proved to the Refugee Protection Division that they are unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin or country of previous residence because they would personally be subjected to danger, torture or a risk to their life or a risk of cruel and unusual punishment regardless of where they are in the country. This does not include risk that is a product of the country’s inability to provide adequate health or medical care.

Whether you claim refugee as a convention refugee or a person in need of protection, you must provide the Refugee Protection Board with sufficient evidence and/or be credible in your testimony to prove your claim.

Am I eligible to make a claim?

You cannot make a claim for Refugee status in Canada if you:

a) Have already been granted refugee status in Canada or another country

b) Have been refused previously for refugee protection in Canada

c) Have had a prior claim that was determined to be ineligible, withdrawn or abandoned

d) Have committed crimes including, but not limited to, war crimes, crime against humanity, serious crimes outside the country of refuge or other acts that are contrary to the principles of the United Nations

The Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is an agreement between Canada and the United States that mandates that those claiming refugee must claim it in the first country that they arrive in before crossing the border and claiming it in the second country. There are exceptions to this rule.

The first is if the person making the claim has a family member who is in Canada and is a citizen, permanent resident, holds a work or study permit or is over the age of 18 and has an active Refugee matter before the Immigration Refugee Board. The second exception is for unaccompanied minors, which include people that are under the age of 18 and are not accompanied by parents or guardian, spouse or common law partner and do not have parents or a guardian in Canada or the United States. The third exception is Document holder exceptions which include people who have valid Canadian visas, study or work permit, travel document issued by Canada or do not require a visa to enter Canada but require one to enter the United States. The last exception is for people who fall under the public interest exception. This category applies to people who have been convicted of a crime that holds the death penalty as a potential sentence. It is important to note that even if you meet any of these exceptions, you must prove that you are eligible for a refugee claim in Canada by meeting all the other requirements.

What happens after the Refugee Protection Division hears my claim?

After the hearing at the Refugee Protection Division, a claimant will be granted status as a protected person if the panel has found that the claimant is a convention refugee or a person in need of protection or be refused and then the conditional removal order will become effective within a designated time period unless an appeal is made to the Refugee Appeal Division and/or other steps under the law. For more information on Removal Orders, click here. If you are granted status as a protected person, you may apply for permanent residency. If your claim has been refused, you may appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division. It is important to note that if the Refugee Protection Division grants refugee status to an individual, the Minister retains the right to file an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division if they believe the Refugee Protection Division erred in their decision. For more information on the Refugee Appeal Division, click here.

If you have been granted permanent residence status, it is important to note that the Government may make an application to revoke your status as a refugee for any of number of reasons, including travelling back to the country of refuge, obtaining and using a passport from the country of refuge, re-establishing yourself in the country of refuge and/or the reasons for which the person sought refuge have ceased. Your refugee status may also be vacated if you have been found to have misrepresented when you made your claim. For more information on refugee cessation matters, we encourage you to contact a legal professional.

In all, the steps for a refugee claim are as follows

i) File a Refugee claim in Canada

ii) An officer determines if you are eligible to make a claim and a BOC form is filled out

iii) Your claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division and a hearing is scheduled if you are found to be eligible

iv) An appearance is made before the Refugee Protection Division. A decision is made or held in reserve

v) Protected person status is granted

vi) Refugee claim is refused and a removal order is issued

vii) Claimant leaves country or files an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division and or other steps under the law, if eligible. To see if your eligible for an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division, click here .

It is important to note that if you are not eligible to file an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division, you may file an Application for Leave and Judicial Review to the Federal Court. For more information on the Federal Court, click here.

What to do next?

If you believe you may be a convention refugee or a person in need of protection, have already made a claim for refugee status or have been refused for refugee status, and would like assistance, we encourage you to contact Bellissimo Law Group PC

What Our Clients Say

Bellissimo Law has been the greatest help we could have asked for our journey. Our case needed an appeal which was very well organized, documented and presented to the authorities. We received a positive decision on the case all because of the expertise of Mr. Bellissimo and team. Keely and John are great at responding all smart and stupid questions and the team is very prompt to answer emails. They have the entire process streamlined, right from extension to evidences which makes our job easier. We got the quotes from some of the other law firms too who are all good and had lower charges. We chose Bellisimo because they are the best and in the long term a few extra bucks won't matter but the results will. Highly recommended.

Vaibhav Chaturvedi

16:51 06 May 19

Our immigration process was handled by Bellissimo Law Group. The first consultation with Mr Bellissimo was very insightful. Ms Keely Anderson was particularly very helpful. She guided us through the process. I will definitely recommend this law firm. They know what they are doing. Thanks once again for guiding us through the process.

Dare Sokoya

19:27 28 Mar 19

I greatly recommend Bellissimo Law Group. After a long time waiting, I will finally be reunited with my son here in Canada. We are very grateful for all the great, very professional services that they have done for my case. My personal thanks to Kelly Anderson and her group. More power to all of you!

michele medalla

23:36 04 Mar 19

I wish I’d found Bellissimo Law 9 years ago before taking the advice of a so called Immigration Consultant who led our family to a very costly near disaster in our quest to immigrate to join our family in Canada. Years later, in desperation, at a Procedural Fairness Letter stage internet research seemed to suggest Bellissimo Law may be the company to deal with our problem. From the first consultation with Bellissimo Law their extremely thorough, very focused telephone interview personified professionalism and reassurance. All subsequent dealings with any member of the team were of the same high standard. It was clear to us that Mario Bellissimo leads from the front and that his staff not only respect him but that they are trained to match his standards and caring approach. I believe it is very important to mention that although they seem expensive, when our particular problem resolved more quickly and easily than anticipated they refunded the money which had not yet been used. Thanks particularly to Keely, our lead person, and to all at Bellissimo. I will always, highly recommend Bellissimo Law. Keep up the good work. In less than 6 months all our worries are over. We are now permanent residents.

Patricia Forsythe

23:33 22 Mar 19

Very professional and very informative on the phone. Good to see that it is not all about money and more about relationship building. Highly recommended. Thank you!

Atabak Amirabrahimi

17:19 16 Apr 19

Great service and successfully guided us through the immigration and citizenship processes. Terrific attention to detail, and created a terrific case for our application, which was successfully approved. Attached is a picture with the judge. A wonderful day. So proud to be a Canadian!

Carlos Berber

15:45 26 May 19

Bellísimo law group made a dream a reality. They help me throughout the entire process of becoming a Canadian permanent resident. Great service. I will definitely use their services again in the future. Highly recommended

Jose Rendon

01:01 29 May 19

We had a fantastic experience with Bellissimo Law Group. From Mr. Bellissimo to the entire staff, in particular Viola Gniadek, were professional, diligent, knowledgeable and available at all times. We thank the entire group for a successful resolution for my friend Catherine. I would highly recommend the firm for any and all of your immigration needs. Thank you all for a job well done!

Liliana Pelech

14:53 01 Jun 19

I sponsored my parents in 2007 and I was refused in 2013 based on medical inadmissibility of my mentally challenged brother. I found Late Mr. Rotenberg as my original lawyer who passed away during the process. I was very disappointed as I was counting on his expertise to help me with my situation. Mr. Bellissimo was God send for me to help me with my case. I am very thankful that he took on my case. His team member Ms. Tamara Thomas worked with me and advised me with regards to the documents that I needed to obtain, they did extensive research on eligibility criteria of various social and health systems. They worked with me on the interview preparation. The time spend working with them was very targeted and very specific to address the Minister's concerns. They ensured there was no further waste in time or any delays. The way they presented my case and helped me win it only a world class Law firm can do that as there were times I was going to lose my hopes. I would totally recommend this law firm to anyone who is going through similar situation as mine with both hands down. Mr. Bellissimo and the team (Ms. Tamara Thomas) you guys are amazing and thank you so much again for reuniting me with my family in my beautiful dream country Canada.

Irshad Khan

17:46 04 Jun 19

They’re very professional and the advice was given 100% accurate. The lawyer Justin Toh didn’t rush at all. He took the time to answer all our questions in details. I’m very happy with their service.

Shah Alam

21:15 09 Jul 19

Great service! I had a lot of questions prepared and Viola answered each and every one of them articulately and concisely. I definitely recommend Bellissimo!

RYAN COWLEY

17:39 30 Jul 19

Hands down i would never done it by myself if it wasn't for Mr. Mario and Ms. Anderson hard work, I was facing deportation and they helped me step by step to get through it to be honest I am very forgetful person and Ms. Anderson always keep me on track and follow up with me making sure i get things done and send to her and they always keep me updated on everything, I am no longer facing such difficulties and i can stay in Canada. i would recommend Bellissiomo Law Group to all friends and Family. thank you again.

Omid Rezaee

16:00 12 Aug 19

Vaibhav Chaturvedi

16:51 06 May 19

Bellissimo Law Group did a wonderful job. They helped me and my family obtain work permits in Canada. They were responsive, professional, and got the job done in a timely manner with no issues. I would absolutely work with them in the future.

Eric Blomster

11:58 30 Aug 19

Bellissimo Law Firm has great lawyers who have handled our immigration case. The staff was very professional. We are very happy with their service.We had to go through a tough ordeal because of misrepresentation earlier and our file was rejected. That is when we assigned this case to Mario Bellissimo. I would happily refer his law firm to any one whose in the same situation as ours or any immigration related matter.I would like to mention a special thanks to Tamara who was in touch with us and kept as posted. Mario had 100% confidence in our case that we will win which was very assuring for me and my family. And we finally got our permanent residency.God bless him and his firm.

mubina fatima

18:35 15 Sep 19

Our family could not thank you Bellissimo Law Group enough for all their help on my brother's case. We are very thankful for their professionalism, effort and hard work. We truly appreciate for everything that the team has done for us. Especially Keely, I cannot thank her more for her patience, advice and explanation throughout the whole process. I know that this has been a tough and long battle for all of us and finally it is a dream come true. Words cannot describe how thankful and happy we are. To us, thank you is not enough to express our appreciation, I would call them the lifesaver for our family. Once again, thank you and we wish everyone all a continue success.

April Cheng

07:05 24 Sep 19

Great communication and appointment setup. Mr. Bellissimo was quite frank and candid and spoke openly and candidly. Gave me the right advice to wait till a certain stage to file my case.

Imran Butt

01:53 01 Oct 19

I really appreciate Bellissimo Law group for helping me out especially in obtaining my postgraduate work permit. I was in an unfortunate situation where there was a chance of my application being rejected but I was able to obtain it in the end. I especially thank Michelle for helping me out throughout this whole process. It was not easy but she was able to respond to my questions and answer them in a very informative and prompt manner. I definitely recommend Bellissimo Law group.

JH C

20:23 17 Oct 19

I am indebted to Ms. Viola Gniadek, Mr. Mario Bellissimo and the entire team at Bellissimo Law Group for having assisted me with my Spouse’s Open Work Permit & Children’s Study Permits that were denied unfairly and arbitrarily -Twice consecutively - earlier this year. Viola assisted me in putting together my family’s file from scratch, over a period of 2 months. This would be my third attempt, and my first time with the law firm. There were times I had bouts of anxiety given the air of uncertainty and hopelessness but Viola was always there to calm my nerves and was very quick in her email responses. The firm knows what they’re doing and they do it very, very well!Absolutely recommended and I will not hesitate in using their services again in future, should there be a need 🙂

Nabil Valiulla

21:58 17 Oct 19

Life changing experience. Simply brilliant! Kelly Anderson is very professional and friendly. Our son is special needs kid and with all Bellissimo Law Group support we got our PR only in 8 moths.

Madina N

21:56 22 Oct 19

I totally recommend them for any issues, concerns or guidance you might need. Very reliable and to the point. I had Miss Alexandra as my immigration lawyer and I have only good things to say about her involvement in this long and stressful process. She knew perfectly how to approach, handle and solve any issues we encountered and with their help the outcome was a positive one.Thank you!

Ana-Maria Veinea

03:14 22 Nov 19

I want to say thank to Mario Bellissimo , Keely Anderson, Natalia Borkowska and all the entire team for a wonderful job they did. Me and my families case was really hard and there were some moments where we were close to being deported but Mario Bellissimo and his team fought really hard for my family and was able to help up stay in Canada to the point where we got the permanent residence. I would also like to recognize the fact that Keely Anderson was by my side through out the whole situation telling me every step to take. We truly recommend Bellissimo law firm, I believe they are the best law firm in Toronto and can be trust worthy for any situation.

B Navarro

00:59 09 Dec 19

I would like to thank Mr. Bellissimo, Ms. Keely Anderson, Mr. John Wigle and the rest of the team at Bellissimo Law group for helping me become a permanent resident in Canada. I had a complicated case that took quite a while to process and at times I thought it may not happen. Throughout it all Mr. Bellissimo and Ms. Anderson were very friendly, professional, helpful and honest and through their diligent work got me the result I had been hoping for. I would highly recommend them for any immigration needs. Simon Prigmore.

Simon Prigmore

14:08 17 Dec 19

We would like to thank Bellissimo Law Group especially Mr. Mario Bellissimo, Ms. Keely Anderson and Mr. John Wigle for assisting us to obtain a Permanent Resident status in Canada. We truly appreciate everything that all of you have done for our complicated case. Once again, thank you for your professionalism and hard-work during this past year. It has been a long and though journey for us, but finally our dream has come true.

Eve C

15:39 09 Jan 20

Had the pleasure of a call with one of their lawyers. They did their research prior and provided in depth feedback. Chy was great, she was on time, actually earlier. She answered all my questions, offered various options for my case, kept probing for different avenues. A five star rating from my interaction and stellar performance from Chy (Hope I got the spelling right)

Robin Maharaj

00:14 10 Jan 20

We had an excellent meeting with both Michelle and Mario, where we were treated with respect and they did their very best to help us. Whilst the answer was not we were hoping for, it became clear that they would fight to get us the best result possible. To be highly recommended.

John Smurthwaite

00:40 30 Jan 20

Our family could not thank you Bellissimo Law Group enough for all their help on my cousin Cong's case. We are very thankful for their professionalism, effort and hard work. Especially Ms. Alexandra, we cannot thank her more for her patience, advice and explanation throughout the whole process. Once again, thank you and we wish everyone here all a continue success.

Allen Y Du

03:52 05 Feb 20

I had a great consultation with Mr. Bellissimo. He was on time for the appointment and explained everything in detail. I was so impressed with his knowledge that I started my process right away.

Vik S

16:29 11 Mar 20

The BLG team provided an excellent service. Many thanks for the professional advice given and the detailed way in which my case was handled. I would especially like to thank attorney Alexandra Goncharova, for her patience and thoroughness in working through my case. I would highly recommend this firm.

Kenroy_B

18:28 14 Mar 20

Very helpful. Only at the beginning of our process of Spousal Sponsorship but they have been very helpful and supportive so far!

Roseanne Fox

17:15 27 Apr 20

I would like to thanks Bellissimo Law Group and all the staff worked on my case. Their professionalism and dedication helped me to get a provincial nomination. Within a short time, their legal staff followed with me closely to collect all details and information to build my case. Thank you again for making my dream comes true.

A. Ahmed

15:10 25 May 20

I have contacted with them regarding our visa application and they responded my queries immediately. They allow me a short conversation without paying them anything and thereafter they gave me 30 minutes time by a consultation fees. The lawyer i spoke to seems professional , informative and very friendly.

Mohammad Masud Parvez

14:55 10 Jun 20

I am based in India and consulted them for my complex immigration issue telephonically.Right from fixing the appointment to imparting advice was done very professionally. I was extremely satisfied with the answers to my queries and appreciated their suggestions and esteemed advice. Throughout the conversation I did not feel that they were rushing through and they very patiently adressed my queries and doubts. I would strongly recommend Bellissimo Law Group.

Rajendra Durve

00:50 11 Jun 20

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