Processing PRRA applications: removals and stays of removal

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

About removals

Country of removal

The country to which the applicant will be removed is in accordance with R241 which states:

  1. If a removal order is enforced under section R239, the foreign national shall be removed to
    1. the country from which they came to Canada;
    2. the country in which they last permanently resided before coming to Canada;
    3. a country of which they are a national or citizen; or
    4. the country of their birth.
  2. If none of the countries referred to in subsection (1) is willing to authorize the foreign national to enter, the PS Minister shall select any country that will authorize entry within a reasonable time and shall remove the foreign national to that country.
  3. Despite section 238 and subsection (1), the PS Minister shall remove a person who is subject to a removal order on the grounds of inadmissibility referred to in paragraph 35(1)(a) of the Act to a country that the PS Minister determines will authorize the person to enter.

Stays of removal

Duration of regulatory and ministerial stays

R232 states that a stay is effective until the earliest of the following events occurs:

  • CIC receives confirmation in writing from the person that they do not intend to apply;
  • the person does not apply within the period provided under R162 (15 days after notification);
  • the application is rejected;
  • if a decision to allow the application for protection is made under A114(1)(a), the decision with respect to the person’s application to remain in Canada as a permanent is made; and
  • in the case of a person to whom A112(3) applies, the stay is re-examined under A114(2) and the C&I Minister cancels the stay.

Failure of the person to apply for permanent residence, or refusal of the application for permanent residence, does not affect the person’s status as a protected person.

Review of Ministerial stay of removal

When the application for protection made by an applicant who is referred to in A112(3), including an applicant who is named in a certificate described under A77(1), is allowed, the decision has the effect of staying the removal order concerning a country or place in respect of which the person is in need of protection. The stay is applicable for an indefinite duration, but must be reviewed periodically to assess change of circumstances and whether the person remains in need of protection.

The C&I Minister may, pursuant to A114(2), re-examine the circumstances surrounding a ministerial stay of the enforcement of a removal order at their discretion. The re-examination procedures contained in R173(1)(a), (b) and (c) require that the person with respect to whom the stay is being re-examined is to be given the following documents:

  • a notice of re-examination;
  • a written assessment on the basis of the factors set out in A97; and
  • a written assessment on the basis of the factors set out in A113(d)(i) or (ii) as the case may be.

When to review: change of circumstances

An assessment of risk of torture, of risk to life or of risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment will be made when there is information or evidence that there has been a change of circumstances, including changes with respect to the country conditions or with respect to the individual. Concurrently, an updated assessment under A113(d) will be conducted.

Process for review of stay of removal

The CBSA removals office monitors regularly the A112(3) list of those who have received a stay of removal. When the office is of the view that country conditions have changed and a review is warranted, a notice of re-examination will be sent to the individual. The individual will be given 15 days to make submissions with respect to risk in the country of origin.

The individual’s submission regarding risk will be assessed by a PRRA officer. The officer assesses the application against the factors in A97. If the assessment is that the individual is not at risk, that assessment is the decision of the Minister with respect to risk and the stay is cancelled.

If the PRRA officer finds that the individual is at risk as described in A97, that assessment will be the assessment referred to in R172(2)(a) and the PRRA officer will send the assessment to the CBSA removals office. The assessment under R172(2)(b) is prepared, in the same manner as set out in the “restrictions on access to protection” section.

The removals officer will prepare supporting documentation regarding the restrictions set out in A112(3)(a), (b), (c), or (d), and A113(d)(i) or (ii), as applicable, and send the supporting documentation regarding these restrictions, as well as the PRRA assessment and supporting documents, to the Coordinator, Danger to the Public/Rehabilitation, Case Review, Case Management Branch (CMB), CIC. CMB will manage these cases, and forward the security, organized crime, and modern war crime cases to National Security Division, CBSA for assessment.

An analyst at CMB or the National Security Division, as applicable, will prepare an assessment, in accordance with R172(2)(b), with respect to whether the individual’s presence in Canada is a danger to the public, or a danger to the country’s security, or the nature or severity of the acts committed by the individual are such that the individual should be removed from Canada. The assessments referred to in R172(2)(a) and (b), including the supporting documentation, are returned to the CBSA removals office.

The removals officer delivers the assessments referred to in R172(2)(a) and (b), and the supporting documentation, to the individual. Any new extrinsic evidence that is related and central to the assessment is disclosed.
These assessments are usually given to the individual by hand or, if sent by mail, are deemed received seven days after the day they are mailed to the last address provided by the individual.  The individual will have 15 days to make further submissions. The individual is instructed to send any submissions directly to the removals office. The individual may request an extension of time to respond. The granting of an extension is discretionary, but a request cannot be unreasonably refused.

Once in receipt of the submissions of the individual, the CBSA removals officer will forward the submissions the Coordinator, Danger to the Public/Rehabilitation, CMB, for consideration by the C&I Minister’s delegate, who make a decision to cancel or maintain the stay based on a balancing of the factors in A97(1) and A113(d)(i) or (ii), as applicable. The stay will be maintained if the C&I Minister’s delegate is of the opinion, after balancing the risks to the individual against the risk to society, that the individual, because of the risk that would be faced upon removal, should be allowed to remain in Canada. However, should the C&I Minister’s delegate decide that the risk to the individual no longer exists, or that the risk that the individual poses to Canada or Canadians outweighs the risk to the individual, the stay will be cancelled. CMB will communicate the decision to the CBSA removal officer, and the individual will be informed. If the decision is to cancel the stay, the removal process resumes.

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