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Apply for refugee status from within Canada, find out how to come to Canada as a refugee, sponsor a refugee, find refugee services in Canada, and learn about how the system works.
Get a passport, sponsor your family or a refugee, get proof of citizenship, travel and work abroad, adopt a child from abroad, and take part in citizenship celebrations.
You can make a claim for refugee protection at any port of entry when you arrive in Canada. This means an airport, seaport or land border. A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer will ask you to complete the required application forms when you arrive.
A refugee is someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality or political opinion or membership in a particular social group.
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a person who has lost the protection of their country of origin and who cannot or is unwilling to return there due to well-founded fear of persecution.
Refugees are people forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as a result of who they are, what they believe in or say, or because of armed conflict, violence or serious public disorder.
To become Canadian citizens, refugees must live in the country for at least three years, pay a fee, and pass a test on their knowledge of Canadian history, geography, economy, government, laws and symbols. 89% of refugees become citizens compared to 84% of Economic Class immigrants and 80% of Family Class immigrants.
This section provides you with all the information you need about refugees in Canada – whether you are seeking asylum in Canada, wish to find out how UNHCR helps refugees find lasting solutions to rebuild their lives, or learn more about the contributions of refugees to Canadian society.
UNHCR helps to save lives and build better futures for the millions of people forced to flee their homes. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency works to ensure that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge, having fled violence, persecution or war at home.
Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. They often have had to flee with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs and loved ones.
