About
Learn why My Refugee Claim matters for refugee claimants, and the history and organizations behind it.
My Refugee Claim is for refugee claimants
Refugee claimants are people who want refugee protection in Canada.
People who leave their home country because of persecution and ask for protection in another country are called asylum seekers. In Canada, asylum seekers are called refugee claimants.
When they arrive in Canada, refugee claimants start on a long and complicated journey. The goal: refugee protection. If they are successful, they can apply to become permanent residents. Refugee claimants are not Government Assisted Refugees or Privately Sponsored Refugees, who become permanent residents when they arrive in Canada.
My Refugee Claim is created by frontline workers, legal experts, and refugee claimants. The goal is to make the refugee protection system easier for all refugee claimants.
My Refugee Claim is driven by four key commitments
My Refugee Claim resources
If you are a refugee claimant in Canada, the Orientation Booklet, MyRefugeeClaim.ca, and Ready Tours are designed for you. They will help you get informed, connected, and prepared. However, they are not meant to replace good legal advice.
If you are a settlement or community worker, lawyer, other legal representative, or concerned Canadian, use these resources with refugee claimants as you help them on their journey.
Resources for each step of the refugee claim journey
This simple graphic shows where the My Refugee Claim resources best support the refugee claimant on their journey.
My Refugee Claim resources are reviewed for legal accuracy
Lawyers review the content for legal accuracy. See the date of the last legal review on each web page.
- Alastair Clarke, Clarke Immigration Law (Sections 2, 5)
- Amanda Aziz, Aziz Law (Sections 4, 6)
- Chris Ghirardi, Lawyer, Legal Aid BC (Section 8)
- Claudia Andrea Molina, Cabinet Molina Inc. (Section 7)
- Ruth Williams, Legal Aid Alberta (Sections 1, 3)
Background
In 2008, Kinbrace, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR Canada), and the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada – Refugee Protection Division (Western Region) together launched Ready Tours for refugee claimants in Vancouver, BC.
The Refugee Hearing Preparation Guide was developed in 2010 as an easy-to-read pamphlet for claimants attending the Ready Tours in Vancouver. Its popularity, and the discussions it inspired, led to the creation of an expanded 48-page booklet in 2014. The booklet was translated into 11 languages and regularly updated and adapted for the six regions in Canada where refugee hearings were held in-person. The multilingual guides remain available here. Caution: The guides were last updated in 2019-2020. Information may have changed.
In 2017, Ready Tour registration and the Refugee Hearing Preparation Guide were brought together in the online resource Ready For My Refugee Hearing (French, English). The goal was to better reach refugee claimants by connecting information, processes, and service providers.
The 2020 pandemic led to significant changes in the refugee process. This led to reimagining a broad public legal education and information resource that would be accessible for refugee claimants, while being easy to update and manage by providers.
The result is My Refugee Claim: resources for refugee claimants to get informed, connected, and prepared.
Get the Refugee Hearing Preparation Guide
REGIONAL PARTNERS
ALBERTA
Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
Calgary Legal Guidance
Edmonton Immigrant Services Association
Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers
Legal Aid Alberta
BRITISH COLUMBIA
ISS of BC – Settlement Orientation Services
Journey Home Community
Legal Aid BC
Migrant Workers Centre
MOSAIC
People’s Law School
Rainbow Refugee
Vancouver Association for Survivors of Torture
MANITOBA
Clark Immigration Law
Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council
CREATIVE & TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS
Project Funders
How you can help
You can help refugee claimants be informed, connected, and prepared by improving My Refugee Claim resources.
Based in Vancouver, BC, the Kinbrace community welcomes refugee claimants with wrap-around wellbeing supports including housing, companionship, employment, and public legal education resources. Our vision for each refugee claimant is a world of welcome, a community of belonging, and a life of opportunity.