Processing PRRA applications: intake

Persons in Canada, other than persons referred to in A115(1) (protected persons or persons recognized as a Convention refugee by a country to which they may return), may apply for PRRA if they are subject to a removal order that is in force or are named in a security certificate described in A77(1). With the exception of port of entry and subsequent PRRAs, persons may not apply before being given notification of their entitlement to do so. Exceptions to those who may apply are set out at A112(2).

When a person is notified (as per R160) of their entitlement to apply for PRRA, the removal order against them becomes subject to a regulatory stay of removal (R232). Notification is normally done in person, by a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) removals officer, who provides the candidate with a PRRA application kit. If the person applies within the 15-day application period (7 additional days are provided to those who are notified by mail), the stay is maintained until a decision on the application is made. Learn more about removals and stays of removal.

Persons whose refugee claims are rejected by the IRB are given a CIC document titled ‘Advance Information Regarding the Pre-removal Risk Assessment’. This introduces the PRRA and informs the person that they may later be found entitled to apply.

Once the person is removal-ready, CBSA issues a ‘PRRA Notification,’ advising them that they are entitled to apply for PRRA. The notice informs the person that they have 15 days in which to apply, plus an additional 15 days in which to provide written submissions in support of their application. The address to which everything must be sent is specified in the PRRA Notification package.

Evidence provided by previous refugee claimants is limited to that which arose after the rejection of their claim by the IRB or evidence that was not reasonably available or that the applicant could not reasonably have been expected in the circumstances to have presented to the IRB at the time of the rejection of the claim [A113(a)].

A previous PRRA applicant (including one whose application was abandoned or withdrawn) may, if 12 (or 36) months have passed (see ‘Who Cannot Apply for PRRA’ below), apply for a subsequent PRRA, but this does not entail a statutory stay of removal. Repeat PRRA applicants have their application assessed only in terms of risk factors arising since the last PRRA assessment, in accordance with the administrative law principle of issue estoppel, unless the officer is satisfied that it would be in the interests of justice to revisit an issue dealt with in a previous PRRA.

In keeping with the principle that individuals such as serious criminals are excluded from refugee protection under the provisions of the Geneva Convention, certain applications submitted by persons described in A112(3) are not assessed against Convention grounds. Learn more about restrictions on protection.

Permanent residents or foreign nationals may be the subject of a certificate signed by the C&I Minister and the Minister of Public Safety (formerly Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness) stating that they are inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality [A77(1)].

Please contact Operational Management and Coordination (OMC) for guidance on security certificate cases.

A115(1) provides that a protected person or a person who is recognized as a Convention refugee by another country to which they may be returned shall not be removed from Canada to a country where they would be at risk of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; or at risk of torture or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. A115(2) provides exceptions to this protection against refoulement, for those who are inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality, of being a security risk, of violating human or international rights, or of organized criminality; and who in the opinion of the C&I Minister are also a danger to the Canadian public, a danger to the security of Canada or (by reason of the nature and severity of the acts committed) should not be allowed to remain in Canada. Pursuant to A112(1), persons described in A115 cannot apply for PRRA.

However, persons described in A115(1) may apply for an assessment of the risk they would face in the country or countries to which they can be removed. For example, applicants may assert that they are at risk in a country that has granted them Convention refugee status and to which they can be returned. Learn more about non-refoulement.

The Authority to Proceed (ATP) issued under section 15 of the Extradition Act is issued by the Department of Justice once it has sufficient documentation from the requesting country to proceed. A confirmation of the ATP is sent to CIC's Case Management Branch and an Ell Lookout is placed in FOSS indicating that the ATP has been issued. A person against whom an ATP has been issued is not entitled, pursuant to A112(2)(a), to apply for PRRA. If the ATP is issued after the PRRA application has been made, the officer assigned to assess the application should consult with Operational Management and Coordination.

A person is not entitled, pursuant to A112(2)(b), to apply for PRRA if their claim for refugee protection was determined to be ineligible because they came to Canada directly or indirectly from a safe third country; that is a country designated by the Regulations, other than the person’s country of nationality or, if the person is stateless, the person’s country of former habitual residence. To date, only the United States of America has been designated.

A112(2)(b.1) A person may not apply for a PRRA if less than 12 months have passed since their refugee claim was rejected-or determined to be abandoned or withdrawn-by the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) or the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). This 12-month bar does not apply to persons whose refugee protection was vacated under A109(3); nor does it apply to persons whose refugee claim was rejected on the basis of section E or F of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention.

A112(2)(c) A person may not apply for a PRRA if less than 12 months have passed since their previous PRRA was rejected, withdrawn or abandoned.

Exemptions to 12-month bar:

A112(2.1) The C&I Minister may exempt from the 12- or 36-month bar, nationals or former habitual residents of a country in which conditions have changed such that certain persons could be subject to personalized risks related to A96 and A97.

At the time of publishing, nationals from the following countries were exempt under A112(2.1) only if their IRB or previous PRRA decision was rendered between August 15, 2011 and August 14, 2012:

• Central African Republic,
• Egypt,
• Guinea-Bissau,
• Libya,
• Mali*,
• Somalia,
• Sudan,
• Syria.

Effective February 22, 2013, nationals of Mali were exempt from the 12-month bar if their IRB or previous PRRA decision was rendered between February 21, 2012 and February 20, 2013.  Malian nationals with a decision on or after February 21, 2013 are subject to the 12-month bar.

A112(2)(b.1) Rejected refugee claimants from a Designated Country of Origin (DCO) are not eligible for a PRRA for 36 months from the date of their final decision at the IRB. This is not retroactive to individuals already in the PRRA inventory (applications received prior to December 15, 2012) [A112(2)(b.1)]. There is a field in the Field Operations Support System (FOSS), on the Record of Refugee Claim screen, which will indicate that the individual is from a DCO. Ministerial exemptions at A112(2.1) may apply.

A112(2)(c) Previous PRRA applicants who are DCO claimants may not apply for a PRRA until 36 months have passed since their PRRA was rejected (or determined withdrawn or abandoned). Ministerial exemptions at A112(2.1) may apply.

All persons who are inadmissible for serious criminality due to an in-Canada conviction punishable by 10 or more years imprisonment are now described in subsection 112(3)-not just those whose conviction was punished by at least two years imprisonment.

However, persons who received less than two years imprisonment, as well as persons inadmissible due to a conviction outside Canada (for an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence punishable by at least 10 years imprisonment) are described in the new subsection 113(e) of section 113. Applications from persons described in subsection 113(e) are processed in the same way as other 112(3) applications, with a key distinction: the risk assessment is not restricted to A97 grounds. The following table highlights these changes.

Consideration of PRRA applications from persons inadmissible for serious criminality: old versus new legislation