Concerns about the new Canada Refugee Protection web portal

There is a growing concern among community stakeholders, advocacy groups, service providers, and other community agencies that the ease of the new Canada Refugee Protection web portal can inadvertently enable clients to start an irrevocable immigration process that can jeopardize the wellbeing of clients and their families. When providing orientations regarding this portal please make sure clients are aware of the risks associated with this process.

The consequences of initiating a refugee claim through the new portal are the following:

  • You are providing your contact information to Immigration Canada
  • Your current immigration status (Visitor, Student, Worker) is modified to Refugee Claimant.
  • If you fail to provide necessary documents, forms, or information on time your refugee claim will be considered withdrawn or abandoned and you will receive a deportation order.
  • If you miss your refugee hearing dates and deadlines your refugee claim will be considered withdrawn/abandoned and you will receive a deportation order.
  • If your claim receives a negative decision and fail to provide a notice of appeal on time your refugee claim will be considered withdrawn/abandoned and you will receive a deportation order.

Because of these risks, we advise that clients speak with our organization, other refugee organizations, or immigration lawyers before providing any of the their personal information to this client portal.