somali-family-hemmingford-e1519947384104_edited_edited_edited.jpg

Important Instructions for Refuge applicants

This page provides you with important information regarding the Notice to Appear you received when you made your claim for refugee protection. It also includes other important information that you must take note of, including the following:

You have a right to be represented by counsel at your own expense, but counsel chosen must be available on the date fixed for your hearing.
You are responsible for obtaining and providing to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) any documents that may support your protection claim. You must make arrangements now to get these supporting documents without delay.

ABOUT YOUR NOTICE TO APPEAR FOR A HEARING:

You will have received a Notice to Appear that contains the information of one of the two examples below depending on whether you made your refugee claim in Canada at a port of entry or from an inland office. Identify which Notice to Appear you received. Then read the Important dates section on the following page that relates to the example of your type of Notice to appear.

REFUGEE CLAIM MADE AT:

A PORT OF ENTRY (at a land border crossing, airport or seaport)
AN INLAND OFFICE: You will receive this form from the Citizenship and Immigration officer when your refugee claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.

IMPORTANT DATES
Information regarding all Notices to Appear

1-The date of your refugee protection claim hearing:

This is the first date on your Notice to Appear. If you did not or cannot go to your hearing for medical reasons, please see the Claimant’s Guide for instructions.

You can have someone come with you to help you present your case. This person may be a friend or relative for example, but they cannot charge you a fee or ask for any other type of compensation to represent you at your hearing at the RPD. You may also choose to hire counsel to represent you. 
However, only counsel who is a member in good standing of a provincial law society (lawyers and paralegals), of the Chambre des notaires du Québec, or of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council can represent you at your hearing at the RPD and charge a fee.
If you decide to hire counsel, you must pay this fee yourself.  If you decide to hire counsel to represent you, you should do so immediately. If you do not have enough money to pay for counsel, you may contact the legal aid office in your province to find out what help, if any, is available. A list of legal aid offices is included in the Claimant’s Kit you received.
If you do ask someone to help you at your hearing, they must be available on the date your hearing is scheduled. Unless you retain counsel and inform us within five days of receiving the date for your hearing, the RPD will not change the date to accommodate a counsel who is not available to represent you on the date fixed.

2-The date of your special hearing: This is the second date on your Notice to Appear.

If you did not go to your refugee protection hearing on the first date, you risk having your claim abandoned. You must go to this special hearing.
 At your special hearing, you will need to explain why you did not go to your refugee protection claim hearing. 
If the RPD does not accept your explanation, your claim will be declared abandoned. 
The RPD may also declare your claim abandoned, without contacting you again, if you do not go to your special hearing. 
If the RPD declares your claim abandoned, you will not be allowed to continue with your claim or make another claim in the future.

IF YOU CLAIMED REFUGEE PROTECTION AT A PORT OF ENTRY (a land border crossing, airport or seaport), an immigration officer has given you a Claimant’s Kit.

This kit includes a Basis of Claim Form and other documents that you have to complete before the hearing date that appears on your Notice to Appear. If the Notice to Appear you received looks like Port of Entry example that is on the left on the first page, you must also comply with the two additional important dates about sending your completed Basis of Claim Form to the RPD. These steps must be completed within the time lines below which are BEFORE the hearing date of your refugee claim.

3 - The date that your Basis of Claim Form must be received by the Refugee Protection Division (RPD): To find out when your Basis of Claim Form is due, count 15 calendar days from the date you received it. If this date is a Saturday, a Sunday or a holiday when Refugee Protection Division (RPD) offices are closed, the due date is the next working day. 

You must make sure that you include all your documents that support your claim. The Claimant’s Guide tells you what documents you need to include with your Basis of Claim Form. 
If you don’t have the documents yet to support your claim, you need to make arrangements now to get them without delay. 
You must either bring your Basis of Claim Form in person to the RPD registry office where your claim is being processed or send it by fax if your document is less than 20 pages or by courier. The addresses and fax numbers are found in the Claimant’s Guide.

4 - The date in the section “Special Hearing date if the Basis of Claim Form is not received on time”: If the RPD does not receive your Basis of Claim Form by the due date (15 days after the date you received it), you must go to this special hearing.

 You must be at the hearing at 9 a.m. on the date and at the location shown on your Notice to Appear. 
At your special hearing, you will need to explain why the RPD did not get your Basis of Claim Form on time.
If you do not go to your special hearing, the RPD may declare your claim abandoned without contacting you again.
If the RPD declares your claim abandoned, you will not be allowed to continue with your claim or make another claim in the future.

OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Your contact information

If you did not give your address in Canada to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) when you made your claim, you must give it to the RPD and to CIC or to CBSA (whichever sent your claim to the RPD) no later than 10 days after the day you received your Notice to Appear for a Hearing. You must also tell the RPD and CIC or CBSA immediately, in writing, if your address or telephone number changes. If you do not provide your contact information to the RPD on time, the RPD may not be able to contact you and may declare your claim abandoned.

For more information, please see the Claimant’s Guide or contact the RPD Registry your claim was sent to. Foreign language versions are provided for information purposes only. In case of disparity, English and French versions take precedence.

RPD REGISTRY OFFICES

Eastern Region

Montréal

Guy-Favreau Complex

200 René-Lévesque Blvd.

West

East Tower, Room 102 Montreal, Quebec H2Z 1X4 Telephone: 514-283-7733 or

1-866-626-8719

Fax: 514-283-0164

Central Region

Toronto

74 Victoria Street, Suite 400 Toronto, Ontario M5C 3C7 Telephone: 416-954-1000

Fax: 416-954-1165

Western Region

Vancouver

300 West Georgia Street,

Suite 1600

Vancouver, BC V6B 6C9

Telephone: 604-666-5946 or

1-866-787-7472

Fax: 604-666-3043

Calgary

225 Manning Rd. NE, 2nd Floor

Calgary, Alberta T2E 2P5

Telephone: 403-292-6620 or

1-855-504-6764