Refugee Status

Can your family be protected with you?

In most cases yes, Citizenship and Immigration Canada like to keep families together and bring them back together in unity as often as possible. In the case that you family will also need protection you and your family will have one hearing and one decision together.

What is seen as “family” members?

Family can be many different people, in terms of your Refugee Claim family can be:

• Your spouse- someone whom you are legally married to in the country that it took place as well as in Canada
• Your common-law partner- someone whom you are living in a conjugal relationship with for at least a period of one year.
• Dependent children- your children or those of your spouses or common-law partners. They must be:
• 19 years of age or younger, without a spouse or common-law partner of their own. or;
• 19 years of age or over but, they were unable to financially be self-sufficient before the age of 19 because of a physical or mental condition
• Dependent child of a dependent child- children/child of your dependent child or, dependent children/child of your common-law partner or spouse.

What will need to be included in your Refugee Claim?

There will be several documents that are going to be required to be provided from you as well as the family members that you are hoping to also get protection for. These documents include but are not limited to:

• Pieces of personal identification- passports, travel documents, identity cards, birth certificates, school certificates, marriage certificates and/or political or social organizational membership
• Supporting documents- school records, police and medical reports, business cards and even news articles and reports on your current country’s current conditions
• 4 photos for each person- each person will be required to give 4 passport sized photos of themselves with their names written on the back of each

Are you and your family required to complete a medical exam?

Yes, once your application has been looked and deemed eligible for a referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board at it will be a requirement that everyone you are claiming protection for complete a medical exam. You will receive instructions on exactly how and where you will need to have this done.

Will the medical exam effect your eligibility?

The outcome of your completed medical exam will not affect your Refugee Claim.

What happens after the completed medical exams?

Once you have up to this point completed it will be time for you to complete all of the required forms. This part of the application, just like all of the others will require you to be precise, organized and accurate.

The last stage will be waiting for your eligibility to be determined. Throughout your waiting time, if there is any information that has changed you must ensure that you update all of the necessary information as often as possible.

Our staff is highly trained in immigration matters and will be more than happy to assist you throughout this process. It is not required that you hire an immigration representative but by doing so this will ensure that you have everything that is required of you from the very beginning. Our staff will be able to overlook everything in this process for you and help t guide you in the right direction.