Canada changes the procedure for obtaining refugee status
Essence of the changes
Changes that come into effect on December 15, 2012, fundamentally alter the situation with the consideration of applications for refugee status. It is worth saying that the government has been dealing with this problem for a long time, and back in 2010 the Balanced Refugee Reform Act appeared. In 2012, another law, the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act, was passed. It was these two laws that finally made it possible to create a different system for reviewing applications and deporting refugees.
According to the new system, the consideration of an application for refugee status must be carried out within no more than 60 days. Until now, such a time limit did not exist, and according to official statistics, the average time from filing an application to a court hearing was about 600 days.
A clear division of the procedure for processing applications for refugee status is also introduced, depending on the country from which applicants arrived. According to the new law, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada receives the right to draw up a limited list of countries that fall under the definition of a humanitarian disaster zone and that will be recognized by Canada as a source of genuine refugees.
For persons arriving from countries recognized as a source of genuine refugees, the procedure for reviewing applications will be as follows. For the first time in Canada's history, a special department has been created for them – the Refugee Appeal Division (RAD) – where those whose applications have been refused can apply for an appeal. If their initial application is rejected, they can appeal to the specified RAD department, where cases will be reviewed on an expedited basis.
For persons arriving from countries considered safe, an accelerated application process is introduced – within 30-45 days, and in case of refusal, the possibility of filing an appeal is not provided. Those who are denied refugee status, according to the provisions of the new system, will be deported from the country within 1 year (in previous years, this took up to 4-5 years).
Such innovations will help combat the flow of "bogus refugees." In particular, in late November, in one of his speeches, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada stated that in 2011 alone, almost a quarter of all applicants for refugee status came from European Union countries.
An additional measure taken by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada is the requirement to provide fingerprints when applying for a Canadian visa. This applies to citizens of 29 countries that have the largest flow of refugees and that potentially pose a security threat to Canada. None of the countries that were formerly part of the USSR are on this list. This approach will allow restricting the entry of undesirable persons into the country, as well as expediting the processing of applications for refugee status.
Reason for introducing new rules
It is worth saying that the need for stricter rules for granting refugee status by Canada to those who entered the country and decided to stay here has been brewing for a long time. In recent decades, Canada has earned a dubious reputation as a paradise for refugees, primarily because of its liberal attitude towards this category of people and the lack of effective mechanisms for deporting illegal immigrants. As a result, in recent years, Canada accounted for about 10% of the global flow of refugees.
Undoubtedly, such humanism burdens the Canadian economy, and the situation required tough decisions. It is worth adding that judging by the general mood, not many Canadians welcome the mass influx of refugees, especially since the situation in this area sometimes looks absurd.
The fact is that Canada accepted refugees even when other countries refused them, not recognizing them as such. In particular, in the summer of 2010, the press widely covered the situation with the vessel MV SunSea, which carried about 490 people from the Tamil population of Sri Lanka. The goal of this odyssey was to reach a port in one of the developed countries of the world for the subsequent acquisition of refugee status by the ship's passengers. Initially, the final destination of the trip was Australia, but that country did not allow the ship to enter its territorial waters. The ship's captain made several more attempts to land on the shores of other countries, which were also denied him. Ultimately, the only country that agreed to accept them was Canada. Besides creating a dangerous precedent, Canadian security services feared that among the passengers there might be militants of the terrorist organization "Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam."
Another topic that caused widespread public outcry was the situation with Roma from Hungary and the Czech Republic, who massively entered Canada claiming refugee status. As a result, in order to stop this flow, Canada was forced to introduce a visa regime with the Czech Republic, which led to a political conflict with the European Union and almost resulted in the introduction of a visa regime between European countries and Canada. The absurdity of the situation is that refugee status in Canada was sought by citizens of European countries that themselves are signatories to the Geneva Convention on the granting of asylum to persons persecuted in their own country.
A similar situation arose with Mexican citizens coming to Canada for treatment. The fact is that under current laws and obligations that Canada has assumed for humanitarian reasons, any foreigner who finds themselves on Canadian territory can apply for refugee status. Their case will be reviewed, and if they can prove that they are being persecuted in their country of citizenship and that there is a real threat to their life, they will be granted refugee status. I should note that proving this is difficult, so in recent years only a small percentage of applicants have received the desired status.
However, for Canada, the problem was that under current laws, after a refusal, an appeal could be filed. And since the queue for reviewing an application and then for reviewing an appeal was long, the entire process took quite a long time, and in fact, for several years the applicant could live in Canada awaiting a final decision on their case. During this time, they received a cash allowance and, most importantly, free medical care, including expensive examinations and operations. Moreover, for those claiming refugee status, even those medical services that Canadians have to pay for out of their own pockets were free – for example, dental services.
Given the highest level of national medicine, Canada became a magnet for foreigners with serious illnesses requiring expensive treatment. The scheme was simple and effective – a foreigner, upon entering the country, would apply for refugee status, after which they gained access to free medical care. The scheme became especially popular among Mexican citizens, with whom Canada had a visa-free regime. Naturally, such a flow of 'medical refugees' placed a heavy financial burden on the country's budget, and eventually Canada was forced to introduce a visa regime with Mexico, which significantly complicated political relations with that country.
It is also worth touching on another aspect of this problem, namely the difficulty of entering Canada for citizens of those countries with which Canada does not have a visa-free agreement. It is no secret that Canada has a reputation as a closed country, where it is very difficult to get a visitor visa. This is explained quite simply – one of the main tasks of immigration authorities is to identify and prevent persons who, after entering Canada, may remain in its territory to obtain refugee status. This is the reason for the difficulties in obtaining visas and the long processing times. Naturally, this situation causes significant harm to the economy, as it limits the influx of tourists and hinders business ties, not to mention creating a negative image for the country.
Expected consequences of the new rules
The Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada expects that the introduction of new strict measures against fraudulent refugee claims, accelerated processing of cases, and deportation of 'fake refugees' will significantly reduce the flow of those wishing to take advantage of the liberal Canadian system. It is expected that the introduction of new laws and a new system for processing refugee applications will save the Canadian treasury up to $1.6 billion over five years. Another side effect will be a barrier to criminal elements who entered Canada through the refugee route and posed a threat to the country's security.
I would add that the new system has another big plus. It should significantly simplify the work of immigration officials in issuing visas for temporary entry into Canada, greatly facilitate and speed up the obtaining of these visas for people planning a trip to Canada as tourists, to visit friends or relatives, for business, or for those who intend to send their children to study in Canada.
In general, it should be noted that Canada is currently becoming more open. All actions of the current government indicate that a course has been set to expand ties with developing countries of the world and attract foreign investors to Canada. This, in addition to concluding free trade agreements, implies easing the visa regime. I also want to remind about the national program for the development of international tourism, which was adopted in Canada two years ago, and which also implies a simplified regime for issuing visitor visas. All the above initiatives were held back due to the refugee situation, so a solution to this problem was long awaited.
In conclusion, I would like to add that this initiative of the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada can only be welcomed, regretting only that it was not adopted earlier. Now the main thing is that the government has the determination and ability to implement what is planned. At least there is hope that the new refugee policy will significantly facilitate obtaining entry visas for those wishing to visit this wonderful country, and will open it to a much larger number of residents of CIS countries.
Elena RYABININA.
