The first stage of the asylum process is the eligibility interview. After claiming asylum, government officials will conduct an interview to verify your identity, perform a security screening and determine if you are eligible to have your case assessed by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB).
Your asylum claim may not be eligible to be referred to the IRB if, for example, you:
- Made a previous claim in Canada that was rejected, abandoned, withdrawn or found ineligible;
- Have been recognized as a Convention refugee by another country that you can return to without fear;
- Made a claim at an official land border post at the Canada-United States border – unless you qualify for an exception under the STCA;
- Made an asylum claim in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand.
Your claim may also not be eligible to be referred to the IRB if you made your claim on or after 3 June 2025, AND :
- You arrived in Canada after 24 June 2020 and made your claim more than a year later (if you entered Canada more than once after 24 June 2020, your first entry date is the one that will be considered), or
- You crossed the Canada–U.S. border irregularly and claimed asylum after 14 days.
To find out whether you are eligible to apply for asylum according to these laws, you can use the Migrant Rights Network tool.
You can find the full list of ineligibility reasons on the government’s website.
! Note : Currently, unaccompanied minors (persons under the age of 18 who do not have, in Canada, a parent or an adult legally responsible for them at the time of making their claim) are exempt from the last two ineligibilities listed.
If you come to Canada to claim asylum, identification is required for you and your accompanying family members to prove who you are and show how you are related. You can prove who you are by presenting to the authorities any of the following identity documents (original or copies):
- Passport
- Driver’s license
- National identity card
- Birth certificate (including the children’s birth certificates)
- Marriage certificate
- Any other relevant document
You must fully cooperate to facilitate your asylum process by:
- Answering questions from the Canadian authorities.
- Explaining to Canadian authorities how you arrived in Canada.
- Showing Canadian authorities any documents used during travel, whether genuine or falsified.
- Providing documents that prove your identity.
Not cooperating with the Canadian authorities by destroying or hiding identity documents will delay establishing your identity and may place you at risk of being detained.