 Hi, my name is Mary Kiyork and today I'm answering some questions about refugee claims Question number one If the political or economic situation in my home country isn't good, or I can't find a job Can I file a refugee claim in Canada? That's a good question. We get that question a lot I would say that it really depends on the unique circumstances of your situation If for example, it's just a political crisis Groups in the news are arguing political parties are Arguing about elections and things like that. This does not usually qualify for a refugee claim You need to have a direct personal risk to your life meaning for example civil wars Civil unrest it could be very unique situation of Discrimination but consistent discrimination that amounts to persecution. It could be for example Women who's been in abusive relationship and wherever she goes in that country In the city, she's being followed. She's being threatened. So it can't just be the country's poor The economy is bad. There's corruption. I don't feel good here My kids don't have access to good education or good health care. There really needs to be a systemic continuous direct problem to your life to your safety security and We also have to demonstrate that the government cannot help you In addition to that we have to demonstrate that there's nobody nowhere else in the country where you can Hide or not hide but live safely. It's called in immigration law It's called an internal flight alternative So you need to have these three things in order to think about making a refugee claim Unfortunately, there's a lot of people that end up coming in Canada and thinking that they're going to qualify Because the situation their country is not the best, but this is incorrect So it's very important that you speak to a legal representative that has experience in this before deciding to Approve your life and the life of your family and your children and come to Canada because it's one thing to make a claim But then it's something else to actually get an approval Question number two Can I submit my refugee claim while I'm outside of Canada? So the answer is no, although I would say it's a nuanced answer because there are Programs where you can actually make an application for example There's overseas refugee Applications that the government has specifically for certain countries for example, there's a group of two to five sponsorship and sometimes Canada will have specific programs with international organizations such as the United Nations or the International organization for migration For example, what happened with Syria? What what's happening in the Ukraine? What happened in Afghanistan where they're they're able to Target groups and bring them here and they come here and they get landed as permanent residents There's also charitable organizations and non-governmental organizations that have certain quotas and programs to be able to bring in quote-unquote refugees But even in those programs, you have to meet certain requirements. So for example, you always have to be outside of the country Where you are persecuted? You have to not have another citizenship another country where you can go and live safely. So there's a requirement. So In that sense, yes, you can apply from outside, but it has to be a specific program If you do not meet those requirements for all other claims, you have to be physically in Canada That means that you have to Have entered Canada usually either a visitor visa or through a temporary permit Sometimes people show up at the border often they show up at the at the US Canada border And you have to be physically in Canada in order to make that claim So in our office, for example, we get a lot of emails from people that are in different countries And they say, you know, I want to come and make a refugee claim But they're in the country of persecution and and we can't help them with that It's very hard to advise because the only way we can help as a law firm Is if you are physically in Canada Question three Do I need to hire a lawyer to help me file my refugee claim? You don't need to hire a lawyer, but I highly recommend it You can also hire a immigration consultant But I would recommend that you do your research properly to make sure that it's somebody that has experience That has good knowledge of refugee law and that really cares about you and your application A lot of people do file their claims by themselves and you're allowed to represent yourself In front of Refugee Protection Division The processes in theory, they should be simple for everybody to be able to represent themselves A lot of refugee claimers that do come here don't have a lot of money They spend all their funds on being able to buy a plane ticket and secure housing Just everyday expenses for their family here So it's it's hard to hire a legal representative But if you do have the means and you you know, you you plan the budget for that I really recommend to hire a legal representative that has expertise and knowledge Because it's a complicated area The forms look simple when you look at it But in fact everything that you're writing has is going to have a huge impact on your actual refugee claim When you go to the Refugee Protection Division for your hearing So there's a lot of paperwork to fill out complex paperwork Then you have to submit evidence For your claim that has to be really well thought out. It has to be research. Everything matters You'll get correspondences from the Refugee Protection Division. Sometimes there's very difficult questions And then you have to actually prepare for your case and you have to attend your hearing You have to testify often. There's going to be an interpreter. So there's a lot of things that come into play So if you are able to hire a representative, I would highly recommend it Question four What social services or benefits are available to me once I file my refugee claim? So once you file your refugee claim, you're going to be currently the system is to file it on online portal Once it's being processed. There's going to be a first interview and then a second interview During after those interviews either the first one or the second one depending this the programs tend to change You will be able to have an open work permit And you'll also be able to have access to social assistance from the government if you need to So the government will look at whether you're working or not Whether you have did you come to Canada with men with money? No money. How many members in your in your family? You'll also have a document called interim health Benefits so you'll be able to have access to Some health care if not most health care services It doesn't kick in right away a lot of people think that they come to Canada They submit the claim and they'll get all this like the next day. This actually takes many months I would say about two to three to four months depending on backlogs processing time sometimes We don't hear back for a long time So it's important to have travel health insurance to have money in case you need to go to hospital if you don't have Insurance to have just funds to just pay your daily expenses So there's a lot of information out there to come to Canada make a claim. You'll get this. You'll get that Yes, the government will be able to help you, but it's not something that happens Simultaneously when you enter Canada, so it's important to come prepared What kind of documents do I need to include in my refugee claim? That's a good question So when you initially what we do in the office is when we follow the initial claim We put just a mandatory documentation so identity civil status documentation and then we have an entire Preparation around what we call disclosure. So disclosure is the documents to support your claim So for example, if you are running away from a country where there's war you need to prove that there's war some yes Sometimes in the news articles international reports. It's obvious But it is your job as the claimant the responsibilities on you to demonstrate to the board member that this is happening in your country if you are Making a claim because you are in the same sex relationship and you were facing discrimination because of that you need to demonstrate that through Documentation now sometimes it's hard to have the documents, especially for certain types of cases Maybe the situation was in public. You didn't keep any records There's specific guidelines at the refugee protection division to process all that but what we tell clients is let's talk Let's sit down. Let's see what can you what do you have to prove? Your situation so examples could be medical reports if you had injuries doctors letters for injuries or mental health conditions if Somebody destroyed your house. It could be photos. It could be police reports If if you had to file a report it could be chat records if for example, you were an abusive relationship And you have chat records of your partner sending abusive messages So it could be everything and anything specific to your case So that's something that at the office would really have to think outside the box because sometimes how do you prove a situation? It's not always possible to have the documents So we really prepare a personalized list and then based on our conversations We see what you can prepare and if you don't have documents then we really have to focus on your testimony during the hearing What happens if my claim is refused? If your refugee claim is refused You can you have a right to file an appeal at the refugee appeal division the rad I believe the notices within 15 days and then the record within 30 days those deadlines sometimes they change So it's important to make sure that you have the right timelines It's not an autumn. It doesn't mean you're gonna automatically file an appeal like it really depends if There's was an error of law or a fact and the decision The decision maker really made an error. So it's you know legal representative will look at The case law the documents submitted the decision What did the board members say and this should this be appealed? If you do not if it's recommended that you do not file an appeal Then unfortunately what's going to happen is that eventually CVSA will be contacting you to Start enforcement proceedings That can take a few weeks. It could take a few months If you have minor children in Canada you can file for a permanent resident application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds If we feel that you have a certain level of establishment in Canada So that's another option If you file an appeal and that's refused you have an option to go to the federal court But again the decision has to be unreasonable So there's different avenues and options, but it really depends on on what happened In some cases some clients decide to leave obviously if if you are refused You won't have access, you know, eventually you won't be able to work. You won't have certain benefits So some some clients decide to leave and depending on your unique circumstances other clients decide to try other avenues Once my refugee claim is approved. Do I become a permanent resident right away? No, you don't become a permanent resident right away That's a good question because a lot of people think that once it's approved they're a permanent resident Some people even think they become citizens, but it really doesn't work that way So you get a document a decision from the RPD the refugee protection division saying that you are recognized as a As a convection refugee and now you can apply for a permanent residence Now that prop that part the second part can take up to two years Most of the time it takes two years sometimes even longer because IRCC immigration Canada has to do background checks security checks A number of other checks to get you landed as a permanent resident during that Part you have to stay in Canada Most of the time you don't have your passport and it's it's quite frustrating because some people want to travel Go on vacation in different countries, but they're not able to Obviously you cannot go back to the country where you fled from a lot of people also think that they can just go back to her the country that they they they made a claim against and that's Very problematic Because when you do come back You can be there can be an investigation So it's important to know that once you have your decision There's still a lot of work to do in order to get your permanent resident application There's forms to be completed and it could take a long time so you have to you know if you have plans for your children travel plans or You know figuring out what your life is going to be You need to understand that it's these things take Currently at the way the system is it takes a very long time Now can you walk us through what a refugee claim hearing looks like? Yes, so Right now most of the hearings are virtual. They used to be in the past used to be all in person Some of them are are are in person now with most of them are virtual. The process remains the same Basically, there's a board member a lot of people refer them as as judges, but The correct term is a board member Is the person who is working at the refugee protection division who will make a decision on your claim? You will have you the claimant And your representative it could be a member of a community. It could be an immigration consultant. It could be an immigration lawyer You can have an interpreter who is provided by the refugee protection division And In some cases not all cases you can have the minister's council who represents immigration Who may decide to be present if there are certain issues at state? But usually the minister's council is not there and you can have observers like law students or anybody from the public with authorization because refugee claims are They're private but in some cases if requested beforehand Um Out a third party may be granted access to observe. Um It the length of time depends of of each case, but I would say Typically it could be anywhere from one hour to three hours or four hours And sometimes it could be over two days or three days, but it wouldn't be back to back Usually it's it's scheduled usually weeks later or months later. Most cases I would say, um Uh are in one sitting The board member will always everything is recorded and the board member will give instructions About how the proceedings will will go Ask the claimant to be if if they swear to say the truth They will give instructions to the interpreter They will go through the disclosure documentation. So this is why it's important to have a representative Because things can go very fast and it could be very confusing, especially if you're very nervous if if you've gone through a lot of trauma Um Your story is very difficult to share And you're there and there's a very official proceedings and there's a board member It could be very scary. So it's important to have somebody there That's representing you and guiding you Then what will happen is the board member will start asking questions It could be a few questions or it could be a lot of questions About your claim your story why you're afraid to go back specific questions about your documentation about your identity About whether or not you try to get the assistance of the government whether there's anywhere else you can hide It could be about everything and anything. So that's why the preparation is really important What I always tell client is to always speak from the heart Speak the truth if you know if you don't understand if you don't understand something say i'm sorry I don't know or I don't remember I always tell clients not to guess not to lie These are all coaching things um That we we explain to clients which are really which can go a really long way in the hearing um Once the board member asks all the questions The representative has an opportunity to ask questions too. So as a lawyer I tend to ask a lot of questions if I feel that the board member didn't Grasp kind of the important parts of the story. I try to clarify things and um And then at the end the board member Will allow the representative to make Uh oral submissions about Why the claim should be granted or not if there's no representative then the claimant can do this But this is where it gets complicated because there's a lot of um legal argumentation involved here Um following the oral submissions in most cases. I would say board members will reserve their decisions to later on Um, they'll say, you know, you'll get the decision in the mail or through the portal in 30 days or 60 days um Some rare cases they will approve on the spot and they will give a positive decision Which is really great when that happens because The claimant can kind of rest a little bit knowing that it's over and it's approved Um, but it really depends on the board member each case is different. So this is more or less The the the the procedure of a refugee hearing And last question Can I ever go back to my home country? After I become a permanent resident? Yeah, so we talked a little bit about this earlier. Um You the the answer is you can you can always book a flight and go back um But you're not you're Not supposed to do that So I find that a lot of people don't know this. So for example people come here from Syria make a refugee claim come here from the ukraine from Afghanistan and let's say from china They made a claim they got approved and then Once they get their passports back or I'm gonna go back see my friends see my family and And then when they come back at the border cvsa finds out Then you will You can lose your protected person status You will have another hearing at the rpd called a cessation hearing And if you're not able to demonstrate Certain things you will lose that status because if the if canada is giving you the status is because you are Afraid to go back to your country um So if you go back this means that you have reavailed yourself of the protection of that country There are some rare exceptions Where you wouldn't lose your status But it's a very difficult and complex area of law And what I tell my clients is if you're making a refugee claim against your home country You're basically never going back there again And you're you shouldn't go back and you have to be really comfortable with that A lot of people don't know this And they don't get caught but a lot of people i'm seeing more and more people being caught so It's important to respect the rules and regulations and the policies If you're making a claim against your country is because you are Absolutely scared and your life is at risk. So you cannot go back to that country