Canada has an obligation to grant protection to Convention refugees and persons in need of protection under a number of United Nations conventions to which it is a signatory.

The Canadian refugee system has two main parts:

• the Refugee and Humanitarian Resettlement Program, for people seeking protection from outside Canada; and
• the In-Canada Asylum Program for people making refugee protection claims from within Canada.

Convention refugee: A person who meets the definition of « refugee » in the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. You are a Convention refugee if:

• you have left your home country (your country of nationality or, if you do not have one, the country where you usually lived in the past);
• you have a well founded fear of persecution based on your race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group; and
• you are unable or, because of your fear, unwilling to try to get the protection of your

Person in need of protection: A person in Canada who would be subjected personally to a danger of torture, a risk to their life, or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if they were returned to their home country (their country of nationality or, if they do not have one, the country where they usually lived in the past).home country.

Pre-removal Risk Assessment

If you are facing removal from Canada, you may be eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment. Most persons whose PRRA applications are accepted become ‘protected persons’ who may  apply to become a permanent resident.

H & C Considerations

Applying for H&C consideration is an exceptional measure – it is not simply another means of applying for permanent resident status in Canada.

Examples of the factors that may be considered include, but are not limited to:

• establishment in Canada
• an inability to leave Canada that has led to establishment
• ties to Canada
• best interests of any children affected by your application (see following section for more information)
• health considerations
• family violence considerations
• consequences of your separation from relative
• factors in your country of origin (not related to seeking protection)
• any other relevant factors you wish to have considered that are not related to seeking protection.