December 9th, 2007
News section
INFORMATION FOR PERSONS WHO WISH TO CLAIM REFUGEE STATUS AT THE QUEBEC, CANADA BORDER
IMPORTANT ALERTS
Due to the high volume of asylum seekers who arrived at the Lacolle, Quebec port of entry, north of Plattsburgh, N.Y., on October 8, and at the St. Armand, Quebec port of entry, north of Burlington, Vt. […]
Beside meeting one of the exceptions to the “Safe Third Country”, there are five other eligibility requirements. You must not have a serious criminal history, (if you have any criminal convictions, please consult with a Canadian immigration lawyer): You must not have previously applied for refugee status in
TRAVEL TO THE BORDER
The Lacolle,
Plattsburgh, N.Y., the nearest big town, is around 25 miles south of the border. If you are in legal status in the
Then, a taxi can take you most of the rest of the way to the border. (One suggestion, City Taxi, 518- 561-7777, is based in
The taxi driver will drop you at the last exit before entering
You can drive a car to the border if you have a valid driver’s license. You must have the original title to the car, which means that you own it completely. If it is a rental car, then you must have a one-way drop off contract from the rental company.
There are no prior appointments given at this port of entry. However, it is best to arrive there very early in the morning so that you minimize your chances of being “directed back”, (see above).
BORDER PROCESSING
At the border, you will be asked to fill out two forms. The 2 hardest questions that will be asked are as follows as they are written on the form:
Occupations
List your occupations during the past ten years, starting with the most recent information, include jobs held, periods of unemployment, periods of study and any other use of time, such as time spent traveling in search of a country of refuge, stays in hospital institutions or penitentiaries, or periods spent at home as a homemaker. Under “Occupation”, print your occupation or ob title if you were working. If you were not working, enter what you were doing (for example, unemployed, studying, traveling,etc.) Do not exclude any period of time in the past ten years. The form will be sent back to you if you miss one month. For example, if today’s date is
Dates,(month and year) From___To___, Occupation___ ,City or town(or nearest community) ___, Country___,Name of company/ employer, if applicable (write name in full)___
Do not use abbreviations
Addresses
Give complete addresses for the places where you lived for the past ten years including the street, town or city, province or region, and country. If there was no street number, explain exactly the location of the house or building. You must account for every month for the past ten years. Use the instructions for the previous question to calculate ten years.
Dates,(month and year) From___To___, Street and number___ , City or town (or nearest community___,Province/State/District___,Country___,
(do not use P.O. box addresses)
You can say that you received the questions from Vermont Refugee Assistance website. Always keep a copy of the answers as you will be asked to submit some of the same information later.
Anyone over the age of 18, will have an interview with an asylum officer.
Once the border officials have interviewed you and have determined your eligibility to pursue a refugee claim in
RESOURCES IN
SHELTER
If you are not able to stay with friends or relatives for quite a while in
The following is the largest refugee shelter in
YMCA de Montreal – Le Jardin Couvert
4039 Rue Tupper
Ph. 514-932-5353
(near the
MEDICAL EXAM
You will have five working days in which to get a medical exam and you will receive a list of five authorized clinics where you can get one in
BENEFITS
You are eligible to receive benefits from the
WORK AUTHORIZATION
You can receive work authorization roughly two months after your asylum application is submitted. One also has to have passed their medical exam in order to be found eligible to work.
LEGAL PROCESS
When you proceed from the border, you will be given a packet which will include a Personal Information Form which is the Canadian version of the asylum application. (See the IRB website below for a copy.) You will have exactly 28 days to submit this to the IRB and we strongly advise that you find an immigration attorney posthaste so that together you can start to work on this.
In eight working days after one’s entry, one has an interview at the IRB building to rather informally review one’s claim. The following is from a Citizenship and Immigration Canada publication: At this interview, “Some refugee claimants are selected by the IRB for the “expedited process.” If so, you will attend a meeting with a refugee claim officer who questions you about your claim. If the RCO is satisfied that your claim should be accepted, he or she recommends this. If the IRB member who reviews the file agrees with this recommendation, the claimant is accepted without a full hearing.” If your case follows the normal track, then your hearing will be scheduled before the IRB in 4-12 months.
In
It is extremely important to find a good attorney and to continue to work with him or her on preparing one’s claim and collecting documentation particular to one’s individual case. This is especially important because the Canadian Immigration system lacks an effective process of appeal. If you loose your case, there are only slender forms of relief available thereafter.
FURTHER INFORMATION
The following websites can provide you with a lot of information about the asylum process in
www.web.ca/~ccr/ The Canadian Council of Refugees is a national umbrella organization of refugee service providers.
www.cic.gc.ca is the official site of Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
www.irb-cisr.gc.ca is the website for the Immigration and Refugee Board, the immigration courts of
