Skip to content Leave Site Now

Legal Aid Ontario will be closed on October 2
Please note that we will be closed on Monday, Oct. 2 to commemorate Truth and Reconciliation Day. Offices and the call centre will resume regular business hours on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

X
Legal Aid Ontario
  • Services
    • Temporary service changes due to COVID-19
    • COVID-19 and the courts: Answers to frequently asked questions
    • Our services
    • Criminal legal issues
    • Domestic violence
    • Family legal issues
    • Mental health legal issues
    • Refugee and immigration legal issues
    • Youth legal issues
    • Legal clinics
    • How to apply
    • Find a lawyer
      • Finding the right legal aid lawyer
    • What do you think about our services?
    • Languages
    • Contact us
  • For legal professionals
    • COVID-19: Ongoing list of supports for lawyers
    • LASA 2020 process updates for lawyers
    • Changes to policies and certificate coverage
    • Roster resources
      • Audit & Compliance
      • Billing
      • Case management
      • Forms library
      • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 policies
      • Legal Aid Online
      • LAO LAW
      • Minimum experience requirements
      • More resources
    • Do legal aid work
    • Mentoring
    • Test case funding
    • News for lawyers
    • B3 Newsletters
    • Contacts for lawyers
  • Corporate
    • About
      • By-laws
      • Our clients
      • Board of Directors
      • Executive Team
      • Board Advisory Committees
      • Sidney B. Linden Access to Justice Award
      • French Language Services
    • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020
      • LASA 2020 Rules and Policies
      • LASA 2020 glossary
    • Consultations
    • LAO Consultation Registry
    • Open Government
    • Reports
    • Publications
    • News
    • Social media
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • FAQ
Français LAO Client Portal
Français LAO Client Portal
  • Services
    • Temporary service changes due to COVID-19
    • COVID-19 and the courts: Answers to frequently asked questions
    • Our services
    • Criminal legal issues
    • Domestic violence
    • Family legal issues
    • Mental health legal issues
    • Refugee and immigration legal issues
    • Youth legal issues
    • Legal clinics
    • How to apply
    • Find a lawyer
      • Finding the right legal aid lawyer
    • What do you think about our services?
    • Languages
    • Contact us
  • For legal professionals
    • COVID-19: Ongoing list of supports for lawyers
    • LASA 2020 process updates for lawyers
    • Changes to policies and certificate coverage
    • Roster resources
      • Audit & Compliance
      • Billing
      • Case management
      • Forms library
      • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020 policies
      • Legal Aid Online
      • LAO LAW
      • Minimum experience requirements
      • More resources
    • Do legal aid work
    • Mentoring
    • Test case funding
    • News for lawyers
    • B3 Newsletters
    • Contacts for lawyers
  • Corporate
    • About
      • By-laws
      • Our clients
      • Board of Directors
      • Executive Team
      • Board Advisory Committees
      • Sidney B. Linden Access to Justice Award
      • French Language Services
    • Legal Aid Services Act, 2020
      • LASA 2020 Rules and Policies
      • LASA 2020 glossary
    • Consultations
    • LAO Consultation Registry
    • Open Government
    • Reports
    • Publications
    • News
    • Social media
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • FAQ

Your refugee claim: before you get started

This section will give you an overview of what you need to know before you start your refugee claim.

1. Get legal help

It is very important for you to get legal help right away with your refugee claim. You have a few choices:

Lawyers
  • You can find a private lawyer.
  • You can contact Legal Aid Ontario (LAO) or legal aid in your province. Legal Aid Ontario provides eligible clients with a limited range of services for immigration and refugee legal issues.
  • You can also visit a Community Legal Clinic (CLC) in your area.
Paralegals
  • You can also be represented at the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) by a paralegal or notary (Québec).
Immigration consultants
  • If you choose this option, make sure that the consultant is a member of the Immigration Consultants of Canada Regulatory Council (ICCRC). Only ICCRC consultants can appear before the Immigration and Refugee Board, if they are charging you a fee. Ask the consultant whether they are a member. You can also look them up in the ICCRC List.
Community groups
  • Local community centers, community organizations and cultural groups can provide information and support during your claim
  • See this list of Refugee Community Organizations across Canada from the Canadian Council for Refugees (CRR) and the links and resources page

Other people may represent you at the IRB, such as a family member, but do not let someone who is not a lawyer, paralegal or immigration consultant regulated by ICCRC represent you for a fee.

2. Starting a claim

There are two ways to start a refugee claim. The process will be different depending on how you start your claim. You can start a claim:

  • when you enter Canada at a land border, airport or a seaport (Port of Entry (POE) Claim)
  • from inside Canada (Inland claim)

If you are coming from the United States, you need to know that it is considered a “safe third country.” There are restrictions on who can come to Canada by land from the United States to make a refugee claim.

3. Next steps – time is short

The next step is to complete your Basis of Claim (BOC) form.

  • If you are planning to make a claim when you enter Canada at a land border, airport or a seaport, you have 15 days to complete your BOC form after you are given the forms by immigration officials. This often, but not always, happens on the same day that you arrive in Canada.
  • If you make a claim from inside Canada, you have to complete your BOC form before your eligibility interview with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Start collecting your documents, right away. You need to submit any documents at least 10 days before your hearing. If your refugee claim is rejected, you could be removed from Canada. You will only have 15 days to start an appeal to the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) or at the Federal Court of Canada. Some categories of rejected claimants are not able to appeal to the RAD. These include some claimants who came to Canada from the United States, or those whose refugee claims are found to have “no credible basis” or “manifestly unfounded”. Those claimants without access to the RAD should talk to a lawyer about bringing an application to Federal Court for judicial review. There are important deadlines for both RAD appeals and judicial reviews.


Infographics

Click here to download image. PDF: English

Click here to download image. PDF: English

Designed by Stories / Freepik

  • This form is feedback only.

Services

Refugee and immigration legal issues

Want to apply for refugee status? Need help completing your Basis of Claim form? Was your refugee claim rejected?

Go back to top

Site footer

Sign-up for email alerts about upcoming consultations.

Need legal help?

Call us toll free at 1‑800‑668‑8258 Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) for help in over 300 languages.

Current wait time: The CLSC is currently closed.

Wait times: Monday is our busiest day. For faster service, try calling Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Legal Aid Ontario is a safe and respectful space for our clients and employees. Verbal or threats of physical abuse will not be tolerated. Abusive behaviour may result in refusal of service.

Links

  • Freedom of information requests
    • Privacy policy
  • Accessibility policy
    • Terms of use
  • What do you think about our services?
    • Contact us
  • Sitemap

Legal Aid Ontario on social media

  • Social
    • Facebook
    • Intagram
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
Legal Aid Ontario

Legal Aid Ontario land acknowledgement

Land acknowledgement: Legal Aid Ontario recognizes that its work, and the work of its community partners take place on traditional Indigenous territories across the province.

Legal Aid Ontario copyright information

Legal Aid Ontario © 2023