If you are making a refugee claim when you arrive in Canada, one of your first interactions will be with a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer. The purpose of this interview is not to decide whether you are a refugee. Rather, the officer will determine whether your claim is eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB). If your claim is eligible, the RPD will later determine whether you meet the legal definition of a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection.
| Who | Role at this stage |
|---|---|
| CBSA officer at the port of entry | Whether the claim is eligible to be referred to the RPD; the officer also examines admissibility |
| Refugee Protection Division (IRB) | Whether the claimant is a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection |
| The claimant | Files the Basis of Claim form with the RPD within 15 days after the claim is referred |
What should you expect at this first interview?
1. You will be asked whether you want to make a refugee claim
The officer will confirm that you are asking Canada for refugee protection and may ask whether you are afraid to return to your country of nationality or, where applicable, the country where you normally live.
It is important to understand that the decision to make a refugee claim must be yours. The officer is not making that decision for you. You should clearly communicate that you are seeking protection in Canada and explain, in general terms, why you cannot return.
2. You will be asked about your identity and travel documents
You will be asked to provide your passport, travel documents and other identification documents that you have with you. CBSA may retain your original travel documents while your claim is being processed and provide you with certified copies. Your fingerprints and photograph will also be taken as part of the process.
You will also be asked how you travelled to Canada and about the documents you used to enter Canada.
If you travelled using a false or fraudulent document, do not lie about it. You should disclose the circumstances truthfully. The use of false documents can raise serious immigration and admissibility issues, and the fact that a document was used to escape persecution does not automatically eliminate those issues.
3. Questions about your immediate family
The officer will ask about your immediate family members and where they are currently living.
If a spouse, parent, child, sibling or another close family member is in Canada or the United States, you may be asked about that person's immigration history, how and when they travelled there, and whether they have made a refugee claim.
These questions are important because your family's immigration history may be relevant to the assessment of your claim and its eligibility.
4. Your citizenship and immigration status in other countries
You can expect questions about your citizenship or citizenships and your immigration status in other countries.
You may also be asked whether you have ever been a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
These questions are important because they help determine which countries are legally relevant to your refugee claim.
For example, suppose you are a citizen of Ukraine but previously lived in Egypt for many years as the spouse of an Egyptian citizen. If you never acquired permanent residence or another status giving you a right to return and reside permanently in Egypt, Egypt may not be treated in the same way as Ukraine when determining the countries relevant to your refugee claim.
The important issue is not simply where you previously lived, but also your citizenship and legal status or right to return to each country.
5. Questions about your education, employment and military service
The officer may ask about your educational background, occupations, employment history, military service and any government positions you have held.
You may also be asked about your involvement with political organizations, military or security forces, or other organizations, depending on your circumstances.
These questions can be relevant to the eligibility and admissibility assessment and may also become important later in the refugee proceedings.
6. Your previous immigration applications and travel history
You should expect questions about previous visa or immigration applications you have made in Canada or other countries.
For example, you may be asked whether you have previously applied for a visitor visa, study permit, work permit, permanent residence or another immigration status and whether any of those applications were refused.
Your previous travel to Canada and other countries may also be discussed.
It is extremely important to provide accurate information. Immigration authorities may have access to records of previous applications, visas, entries and immigration proceedings.
7. Criminal history, military involvement and other admissibility issues
The officer may ask about criminal convictions, criminal charges, military service, participation in armed conflicts and involvement with government, military, security or other organizations.
These questions can be particularly important because certain criminality, security, human-rights or other inadmissibility concerns can affect whether a refugee claim is eligible to be referred to the RPD.
8. Why are you claiming refugee protection?
Eventually, you will be asked why you are seeking protection in Canada.
You should be prepared to explain, clearly and truthfully, the principal events that caused you to fear returning to your country.
At this stage, you may not have an opportunity to provide the complete evidence that will eventually be presented to the RPD. Nevertheless, what you say at the port of entry is important.
Do not omit major events simply because you are nervous, because you think they are unimportant, or because you intend to explain them later.
Significant omissions or inconsistencies between what you say at the port of entry and what you later state in your Basis of Claim or at your refugee hearing can become issues in the assessment of your credibility.
At the same time, a claimant should not try to guess what answer an officer wants to hear. The safest approach is to provide accurate information and explain matters you do not remember or do not understand rather than inventing an answer.
9. The question that often causes the most anxiety: “Do you intend to remain in Canada indefinitely?”
One question that can cause considerable anxiety for refugee claimants is whether they intend to remain in Canada indefinitely.
A person who is genuinely seeking refugee protection may understandably hope to remain in Canada permanently if they are granted protection. However, a refugee claimant must understand the distinction between seeking protection and having an unconditional right to remain in Canada.
A refugee claim is a legal process. If the claim is ultimately refused and all applicable avenues of review or appeal are exhausted, the person may be required to leave Canada.
Therefore, the claimant should answer questions about their intentions truthfully and in the context of the refugee protection process. A claimant should not make a false statement merely because they believe a particular answer will improve their chances of being accepted.
When a claim is found not eligible
Section 101 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act lists the grounds on which a claim cannot be referred to the RPD. They include a claimant who already has refugee protection in Canada, whose earlier claim was rejected by the Board or was found ineligible, withdrawn or abandoned, who has been recognized as a Convention refugee by another country and can be returned there, who came to Canada from a designated safe third country — the United States — subject to specific exceptions, or who has been found inadmissible on grounds of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality or organized criminality. Several of the questions above exist precisely to test these grounds, which is why family in the United States, status in other countries and past claims are asked about so closely.
After the interview: the Basis of Claim form
For a claim made at a port of entry, the Basis of Claim form must reach the Refugee Protection Division within 15 days after the claim is referred, under section 159.8 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The RPD can extend that time for reasons of fairness and natural justice, but an extension is not automatic. The form is where the full account is given — and it is read side by side with the officer’s notes from the port of entry, so the two need to tell the same story. What each section of the form asks is explained in our article on the Basis of Claim form, and the hearing itself in what happens at a refugee hearing. The IRB sets out every stage on its page on the refugee protection claim process.
The first interview matters
The port-of-entry interview is an important first step in the refugee protection process. Although the CBSA officer does not decide whether you qualify as a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection, the information obtained during the interview forms part of the record and can later be available to the RPD.
If your claim is found eligible, you will receive documentation confirming the referral of your claim to the RPD, and you will be required to complete and submit your Basis of Claim (BOC) Form within the applicable deadline. The RPD will then determine whether you meet the legal requirements for refugee protection.
For this reason, a refugee claimant should approach the first interview seriously: be truthful, be complete, do not guess, and do not conceal important information.
Angelina Shuster is a licensed paralegal and represents claimants before the Refugee Protection Division. Where travel on false documents raises a misrepresentation or admissibility question, it needs attention before the hearing. A claim can be reviewed through a free assessment.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every claim turns on its own facts and on the record created at the port of entry.
