How to Claim Asylum in Canada as a Nigerian

Check whether you need refugee protection rather than another immigration route

Canada’s asylum system is for a person who can show that they are a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection. The legal tests concern persecution, torture, risk to life or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. The individual facts and exclusions matter.

Wanting a stable job, lower school fees, permanent residence or more time after a permit expires is not by itself a reason for asylum. A visitor, student or worker whose problem is only temporary-status expiry should check extension or restoration rules.

If you genuinely fear return to Nigeria, tell a Canadian refugee lawyer or another authorised representative the complete facts. Antarch Consulting does not decide whether the fear meets the legal test, draft the protection account or predict the outcome.

IRCC or CBSA checks whether the claim can be referred to the IRB

An inland claim is processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. A claim at a port of entry is processed by the Canada Border Services Agency. The officer first checks identity, admissibility and whether the claim is eligible for referral.

A claim can be ineligible where the person already has protected status in Canada, was recognised as a Convention refugee by another country they can return to, is subject to a removal order, previously made a refugee claim in Canada or another country, or falls within specified security, criminality or human-rights grounds.

The Safe Third Country Agreement and the newer first-entry timing rules add separate grounds. Passing a preliminary intake check does not mean the refugee claim has been accepted. An eligible claim is referred to the Refugee Protection Division, known as the RPD, for the protection decision.

Claims made on or after 3 June 2025 face a new first-entry timing rule

Canada brought two new ineligibility rules into force on 26 March 2026 and applied them to claims made on or after 3 June 2025. One rule concerns a person who first entered Canada after 24 June 2020 and claimed more than one year after that first entry.

Leaving Canada and later returning does not restart the one-year period. This can affect former visitors, students and workers who entered lawfully, left and came back.

A temporary public policy exempts qualifying unaccompanied minors while the permanent regulations are completed. Other exceptions and the exact first-entry calculation require current official review. Preserve every passport, entry stamp, flight record, permit and border document.

A person found ineligible under the new timing rules is not referred to the RPD. CBSA starts the removal process and checks PRRA eligibility. Do not assume that an ineligible claim becomes a hearing later.

Check the Safe Third Country Agreement before entering from the United States

The Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement applies across the land border, including internal waterways. It covers claims at land ports of entry and claims made within 14 days after crossing between ports of entry.

A claimant within its scope is normally returned to the United States unless a listed exception or exemption applies. The official categories include certain family-member connections, unaccompanied minors, specified Canadian document holders and limited public-interest cases.

Having a friend, distant relative or community contact in Canada is not enough. The family relationship and the family member’s Canadian status or pending claim must fit the current definition and be proved.

The newer rule separately makes a claim ineligible where a person entered between ports along the Canada-US land border and claims after the 14-day period. This means waiting beyond 14 days does not create a route around the agreement.

Do not risk an irregular crossing based on an agent’s promise. Ask a Canadian refugee lawyer to review the travel history and any claimed exception before travel or before relying on an IRB referral.

Use the IRCC Portal if you are already inside Canada

An inland claimant uses the IRCC Portal to submit the refugee claim online. Each family member claiming protection needs their own completed Basis of Claim form and identity information, even where one portal account is used for the family.

Prepare a clear copy of the passport, travel document or other identity document. Complete the Use of a Representative form where another person represents or assists in the capacity covered by the form. Upload the documents the portal requests and answer every question truthfully.

After a complete submission, IRCC sends an Acknowledgment of Claim, medical-exam instructions and an appointment notice. At the appointment, the officer examines eligibility, checks original identity documents, collects fingerprints and photographs and asks about the background, entry and claimed danger.

IRCC may hold travel documents until the claim is finally decided. If the claim is eligible, IRCC issues a confirmation of referral and a Refugee Protection Identity Document. The IRB then schedules the RPD process.

At a port of entry, tell the CBSA officer that you need protection

A person can claim at an airport, land or marine port of entry. The CBSA officer records identity and travel information, collects biometrics, examines eligibility and gives instructions for completing the claim.

The officer may complete the intake at the port or direct the person to finish through the IRCC Portal. Follow the particular written instructions. Do not assume that every border claimant uses the same document channel or deadline.

If the claim is referred before the Basis of Claim form is complete, the ordinary regulation states 15 calendar days after referral. The current RPD practice notice extends the port-of-entry period to 45 calendar days. The referral document and any newer IRB notice should be checked because a missed BOC deadline can lead to an abandonment hearing.

Treat the Basis of Claim form as the central personal record

The Basis of Claim form, known as the BOC, is mandatory. It records identity, family, countries of residence, travel, earlier claims and the personal reasons protection is requested.

Write the account in your own truthful words. Explain dates, places, people, attempts to obtain protection and why return would be unsafe. If a date is genuinely uncertain, say so and identify the event that helps you place it.

Read the completed form in a language you understand before signing. Correct mistakes before submission. If a material correction is later needed, send it without delay through the current RPD procedure and explain the change.

Do not buy a refugee story, copy another person’s BOC, alter a police record or use artificial intelligence to translate evidence for the RPD. The IRB requires English or French translations and a signed translator’s declaration.

Collect evidence early and send it through the RPD’s current channel

Personal evidence can include passports, civil records, medical reports, police or court records, employment or membership records, messages, photographs and witness material. Country-condition evidence should come from reliable sources and relate to the actual issue in the claim.

The RPD must receive claimant evidence as early as possible and normally no later than 10 days before the hearing. The current personal-evidence limit is 100 pages for each country involved unless the RPD permits voluminous disclosure.

For every non-English or non-French document, provide the original-language copy, translation and signed translator’s declaration. The RPD says it will not accept translations produced by software, artificial intelligence or web services.

The hearing member decides whether the claimant is a Convention refugee or person in need of protection. Attend from a private, suitable place if the hearing is virtual. Tell the registry promptly about interpretation, disability, vulnerability or access needs.

Check work permission, health coverage and provincial support separately

A claimant can request a no-fee open work permit through the online refugee-claim process. Work cannot begin until legal authorisation exists. Keep the work permit and Social Insurance Number record.

The Acknowledgment of Claim or Refugee Protection Identity Document can show eligibility for the Interim Federal Health Program. Use a registered provider and the current coverage instructions.

Provincial and territorial social assistance and legal aid differ. The IRB lists provinces that provide refugee legal-aid services and explains that the IRB itself does not pay counsel. Apply through the legal-aid office for the province where you live.

Keep IRCC, CBSA and the IRB informed through the official channels when an address, telephone number, email or representative changes. Updating one organisation does not always update every file.

Read what the decision means for status and removal

If the RPD accepts the claim, the person becomes a protected person. The removal order issued during the claim is not enforceable, and the protected person may apply to IRCC for permanent residence.

If the RPD rejects the claim, check immediately whether a Refugee Appeal Division appeal is available. The notice of appeal is normally due within 15 days after receipt of the written reasons, and the current appellant’s-record period is 45 days.

If the claim is ineligible, withdrawn, abandoned or rejected, the removal order can come into force. Keep the decision, written reasons, referral record and delivery proof. Send them to a Canadian refugee lawyer before relying on an appeal, Federal Court case or PRRA.