27 May 2024 - Budget Implementation Act (BIA) 2024 - A joint submission to the Standing Senate Committees studying

Refugee claim process: new step pre-referral The Budget Implementation Act will amend the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) to create a new stage in the process between a refugee claim being determined eligible and the claim being referred to the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). [...] • The new provisions also open the door to the Minister to request documents from claimants that are not currently required for the claim to be referred to the IRB but are needed only by the time IRB hearing itself. [...] (Prior to 2019 amendments, the IRPA gave the Minister 3 days to consider whether the claim was eligible to be referred, and the claim was deemed referred if no decision was taken within the 3 days.) 100.1 (1) Subject to subsections 100(1) to (3) and section 102.2, the Minister must, within one month of receipt of the documents and information referred to in subsection 100(4), refer a claim for ref. [...] Currently, unaccompanied minors who make a refugee claim are referred to the IRB Immigration Division for the issuance of the conditional removal order, and at that point the IRB designates a representative (although that representative is only designated for the proceeding before the Immigration Division). [...] With the proposed elimination in the BIA of Conditional Removal Orders for claimants, unaccompanied minors will no longer be referred to the Immigration Division and 7 Submission on Budget Implementation Act 2024 will not be appointed a designated representative by the IRB until the claim is referred to the RPD.