You may be able to apply for a PRRA if you are told you must leave Canada. A PRRA is a chance to ask for protection from being sent back to a country where you would be at risk. You may be told you can apply for a PRRA after your refugee claim is rejected by the IRB, or if you abandoned or withdrew your claim.
Who can apply
CBSA will tell you if you can apply for a PRRA and provide you with a Notification Regarding a PRRA. You cannot just decide to apply for one.
IRCC will assess your application to see if:
- Returning to your country will subject you personally to a danger of torture or there is a risk to life or cruel and unusual punishment.
- You have a well-founded fear of persecution in your home country and are unwilling or unable to return or seek protection in that country.
Remain in Canada
If this is your first PRRA application, you will not be told to leave Canada. To make sure you can stay in Canada, be careful to meet the deadlines in the Notification Regarding a PRRA.
You will be allowed to stay in Canada unless:
- You say in writing that you will not apply for PRRA
- You miss the PRRA application deadline.
- Your PRRA application is refused.
- You withdraw or abandon your PRRA application.
How to apply
To apply for a PRRA, you must:
- Complete an Application for a PRRA.
Any family members in Canada who are 18 years of age or older must complete their own form.
You also have the option to:
- Prepare and submit written documents (submissions) that describe your situation. These explain why you think you would be at risk if sent back to your country or the country where you usually lived. In these submissions, it is important that you clearly answer the following questions:
- Why would I be at risk if I was returned to the country?
- What kind of risks would I face and why?
- How are these risks tied to me personally?
- Can I move to another part of the country?
- Does everyone else in the country have the same risk?
- Submit new evidence
If your refugee claim or an earlier PRRA application was rejected, you may only give new evidence. This is evidence you got after the rejection, or that you could not get earlier for a good reason.
New evidence can include magazine or newspaper articles, legal, police, medical or personal documents, written testimonies, or personal letters. All evidence must be provided or translated in either English or French.
Submit your application and documents
Submit your completed PRRA application form(s), written documents (submissions) and new evidence to the IRCC office specified on your Notification Regarding a PRRA by the date listed. You can also submit your PRRA application through Connect.
After you apply
Your application is accepted
If your PRRA application is accepted, you usually become a Convention Refugee or a Protected Person in Canada. After that, you can apply for permanent residence.
In some cases, you cannot become a Convention Refugee or a Protected Person in Canada but you can stay in Canada for a while longer. You must leave when things change or it is safe to send you back to your country.
Your application is not accepted
If your PRRA application is rejected, you must leave Canada.
You can apply to the Federal Court of Canada for a judicial review. You will still have to leave Canada unless you obtain an administrative stay of removal or ask the court for a “temporary stay of removal.”