Tips and Info - Seeking asylum in Canada -

If you have applied for asylum in the U.S. you are no longer entitled to the full independent refugee determination process in Canada. Instead you only have access to a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) hearing conducted by a government official. You will be able to have a lawyer present with you. You need to be aware that the PRRA is a less thorough process and has a lower success rate (about 44%) than the refugee process. However, if you are successful, you will be recognized as either a refugee or a protected person in Canada. Please consult a Canadian refugee lawyer before attempting to enter Canada.

If you decide to cross the border irregularly at Roxham Road, please be aware that you will be arrested temporarily by the police at Roxham Road. After arrest, the police will take you to the offices of Canadian immigration to begin the asylum process.

Also be aware that before you cross, the police may tell you to go to the official Port of Entry at Lacolle. However, you have the right under international law to enter Canada irregularly to make an asylum claim. If you go to Lacolle Port of Entry you may be excluded from Canada and sent back to the USA under the rules of the Safe Third Country Agreement, unless you qualify for an exception to the agreement.

It is important to bring with you any documents that show why you need to ask for asylum in Canada. Why are you afraid to return to your country of origin? How have you been persecuted, threatened, tortured, or hurt? You will be asked questions. If you cannot pay for a lawyer, you may qualify for legal aid in Canada and be able to get a lawyer to help you with your asylum claim.

If you are thinking about paying a smuggler to get you into Canada, stop and think about the risks. Recently, a family of four froze to death while trying to cross the border with the ”help” of smugglers. Other people have had severe frostbite and lost fingers and toes.