{"id":6,"date":"2017-11-22T16:07:37","date_gmt":"2017-11-22T16:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/?page_id=6"},"modified":"2026-06-25T16:23:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-25T16:23:31","slug":"welcome","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/","title":{"rendered":"Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you are fleeing your country because you fear\u202fpersecution or risk to your life, you can apply for asylum in Canada. If you are granted asylum, you will receive refugee status and the right to stay. To apply for asylum, you must be physically present in Canada or be seeking entry into the country at a point of entry (airport, land border or seaport).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-left has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fdf799\">\ud83d\udea8Important: Changes to Canada\u2019s Asylum System \ud83d\udea8<br><br>On 26 March 2026, Canada made <a href=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/immigration-refugees-citizenship\/news\/2026\/03\/new-immigration-and-asylum-measures-from-bill-c-12-the-strengthening-canadas-immigration-system-and-borders-act-have-become-law.html\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/immigration-refugees-citizenship\/news\/2026\/03\/new-immigration-and-asylum-measures-from-bill-c-12-the-strengthening-canadas-immigration-system-and-borders-act-have-become-law.html\">some changes <\/a>to its asylum system. <br><br>These changes may affect how your case will be processed if you made your asylum claim on or after <strong>3 June 2025<\/strong> and:<br><br>&#8211; You arrived in Canada after <strong>24 June 2020<\/strong>&nbsp;and made your claim more than&nbsp;<strong>1&nbsp;year&nbsp;later<\/strong>, or<br>&#8211; You crossed the Canada\u2013U.S. border&nbsp;irregularly&nbsp;and claimed asylum <strong>after<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>14 days<\/strong>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br><br>More details are available on the &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/how-to-apply-for-asylum-new\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/how-to-apply-for-asylum-new\/\">How to Apply for Asylum<\/a>&#8221; Page.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" style=\"background-color:#0072bc\"><strong>On this website, you will find:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul style=\"background-color:#f0f0f1\" class=\"wp-block-list has-background\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/how-to-apply-for-asylum-new\/\"><strong>How to apply for asylum in Canada?<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/important-safety-information\/\"><strong>Important Safety Information<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/resources-for-asylum-seekers\/\"><strong>Resources for asylum seekers across Canada<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/rights-and-duties-3\/\"><strong>Rights and duties of asylum seekers and refugees in Canada<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/family-reunification\/\"><strong>Family reunification<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/refugee-resettlement-to-canada\/\"><strong>Refugee resettlement to Canada<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/private-sponsorship-of-refugees\/\"><strong>Private sponsorship of refugees<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/economic-immigration-of-skilled-refugees\/\">Economic immigration of skilled refugees<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/anti-fraud\/\">Anti-Fraud<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/about-unhcr-in-canada\/\"><strong>About UNHCR in Canada<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The information contained here is to be used as a guide and is not legal advice. If you have any questions, please seek legal assistance.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#fdf799\">Fraud alert: Individuals are falsely displaying UNHCR Canada\u2019s phone number (613-232-0909) to offer resettlement in exchange for money. These persons are fraudsters and do not represent UNHCR. UNHCR services are always free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you are fleeing your country because you fear\u202fpersecution or risk to your life, you can apply for asylum in Canada. If you are granted asylum, you will receive refugee status and the right to stay. To apply for asylum, you must be physically present in Canada or be seeking entry into the country at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":125,"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2840,"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/2840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.unhcr.org\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}