Claiming Asylum in Quebec: How a Refugee Claim Works in Canada

Canada offers asylum, legally called refugee protection, to people who are in Canada and need protection. You must prove that you are a Convention refugee, who fears persecution because of their race, religion, political opinion, nationality or membership in a social group, or a person in need of protection, who faces torture, a risk to their life or cruel and unusual treatment. Both definitions are on IRCC's page.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and the CBSA receive the claim and check whether it can be heard; the IRB then holds the hearing and decides. Quebec does not decide the claim, but it offers services to claimants who live there.

Be aware: an asylum claim is not a shortcut to immigrate. If Canada finds you do not need protection, you must leave, and lies in the claim can lead to a ban on coming back.

According to the IRB, you can claim asylum at a port of entry, meaning an airport, a land border or a seaport, or once you are in Canada.

• At the border or the airport: tell the CBSA officer you are claiming asylum. They check your identity, take your fingerprints, for people over 14, and your photos, then ask about your background and the dangers you fear.
• From inside Canada: you fill out the claim in the IRCC Portal, with a single account for the whole family, then attend an appointment at an IRCC office. You have 90 days to finish a claim you started, otherwise you must start over. A paper claim is only accepted for accessibility reasons.

Announced change: IRCC is changing the online claim starting November 3, 2026. A claim submitted before 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on November 2, 2026 needs no new information unless IRCC asks for it; a claim started but not yet submitted will have to answer new questions.

Before the hearing, IRCC or the CBSA checks whether the claim can be sent to the IRB. It is ineligible in particular if you already have refugee status in another country you can return to, if you already claimed asylum in another country or in Canada, or if you are inadmissible for security or criminality.

For claims made since June 3, 2025, two deadlines are added. The claim is ineligible if it is made more than 1 year after you first entered Canada, for an entry after June 24, 2020, or more than 14 days after entering between ports of entry along the land border with the United States. Unaccompanied minors are exempt.

An ineligible claim is not sent to the IRB: your file goes to the CBSA for your removal, and the CBSA tells you whether you can get a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA).

The Basis of Claim (BOC) form is the heart of the file: you say who you are, what you fear, what you went through and why you cannot go back to your country. Each family member who claims asylum fills one out, in French or English only. The IRB encourages getting help from a professional to complete it.

The deadlines:

• At a port of entry: the BOC form goes directly to the IRB's Refugee Protection Division (RPD), within 45 calendar days after your claim was sent to the RPD. If the CBSA also asked you to complete the claim in the IRCC Portal, you have 45 days to submit it.
• From inside Canada: the BOC form is uploaded to the IRCC Portal, within the 90 days you have to finish the claim.

An extension request must reach the RPD at least 3 working days before the deadline. A late BOC form leads to an abandonment hearing. If the claim is declared abandoned, it is not decided, you can no longer claim asylum and you will probably have to leave Canada.

Once the claim is complete, IRCC sends you an acknowledgment of receipt, the instructions for the medical exam and an invitation to an appointment. At the appointment, the officer checks eligibility, collects your biometrics and keeps your original travel documents until the final decision.

If the claim is eligible, you receive a letter confirming it was sent to the IRB and the refugee protection identity document (RPID, « DIDA » in French). This document proves you are an asylum claimant and is used to get health coverage, a work permit or a study permit. At the border, the CBSA also gives it to you, with a Notice to Appear.

Keep your contact information up to date with the RPD, IRCC and the CBSA: if the IRB cannot reach you and you miss the hearing, your claim can go to an abandonment hearing.

For the work permit, answer “Yes” to the question in the online form: there is no separate application and no extra fee. You receive it once the claim is found eligible and referred to the IRB, and the medical exam is done. Then apply for your social insurance number.

If the claim is found ineligible, temporary rules let you keep working until a still-valid permit expires; with an RPID, you can also apply for a permit by paying a non-refundable fee of $155 right away.

Children do not need a study permit for kindergarten, elementary or high school: their RPID is enough to enrol. For health, the guide on health care for asylum seekers explains the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP).

The asylum claim is federal, but if you live in Quebec, you and your family could be entitled to services from the Quebec government:

• temporary shelter and help finding permanent housing;
• last-resort financial assistance;
• school and low-cost childcare;
• employment services and French courses, without financial assistance;
• legal aid, in particular to prepare your claim;
• social services and front-line health care from PRAIDA.

PRAIDA, the Regional Program for the Settlement and Integration of Asylum Seekers, is run by the CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal. You can reach it at 514-484-7878, extension 64500, Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

You receive a notice to appear as soon as the date is set. Most hearings take less than 3 hours; they are held in private, and most often online. An RPD member asks you about your BOC form, reviews your evidence and decides. If you do not speak French or English well enough, the IRB provides a free interpreter; state your language on the BOC form.

Counsel, meaning a representative, is not mandatory: without counsel, the member explains how the hearing works. If you pay someone, it must be a lawyer, a Quebec notary or a consultant who is a member of the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants. An unpaid relative or volunteer can also represent you. See the guide comparing lawyers and consultants.

If you cannot afford to pay, the IRB invites you to contact legal aid; in Quebec, it is one of the services offered to asylum seekers. See the guide on free legal aid.

If the IRB accepts your claim, you become a protected person: you can stay in Canada and apply for permanent residence. IRCC or the CBSA have, however, 15 days to challenge the decision; with no notice of appeal within that time, you can stay.

If the IRB rejects your claim, the notice of decision tells you whether you can challenge it. You then have 15 days from the decision to appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD), or 15 days from when it was sent to apply for judicial review at the Federal Court. Get help right away. With no other recourse, you must leave Canada.

You can also withdraw your claim at any time before the decision, but you will never be able to claim asylum in Canada again. Finally, going back to the country where you fear persecution can lead to your claim being rejected.

Check each step as you go: your progress is saved if you are signed in.

The questions that come up most often about the asylum claim.

These related guides may be useful:

• Health care for asylum seekers — how the IFHP works when you do not have RAMQ yet.
• Free legal aid in Quebec — who is eligible and where to apply.
• Immigration lawyer or consultant — how to choose and check a representative.
• The social insurance number (SIN) — the step to take as soon as you receive your work permit.

For official and up-to-date information:

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
• Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB)
• Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI)