Canada / Asylum and legal stay
Asylum and Legal Stay in Canada for Nigerians
Find the guidance that matches your situation, whether you need refugee protection, face an eligibility problem, received a refusal, lost temporary status or need to distinguish restoration, humanitarian relief and a temporary resident permit.
Official rules checked: 5 September 2026
Choose the situation that applies to you
Start with the immigration document or decision you have now. Refugee claims, appeals, judicial review, restoration and humanitarian applications use different rules and do not stop removal in the same way.
I am in Canada and need protection
Check current eligibility, the online claim, Basis of Claim form and IRB process.
Read how to claim asylumI entered Canada more than one year ago
Claims made on or after 3 June 2025 can face a new first-entry timing bar.
Check the one-year ruleI am entering from the United States
Check the Safe Third Country Agreement, the full land-border rules and listed exceptions.
Read the Canada-US guidanceMy refugee claim was refused
Check RAD eligibility, the 15-day notice deadline and the next legal remedy.
Read refusal guidanceCBSA says I may apply for a PRRA
Use the notification, deadlines and new risk evidence that apply to removal.
Read the PRRA sectionMy visitor, worker or student status expired
Check maintained status, restoration within 90 days and what activity must stop.
Check lost-status optionsI want to apply on humanitarian and compassionate grounds
Check the bars, evidence and the fact that an H&C application does not stop removal.
Read the H&C guidanceI was told to apply for a temporary resident permit
Understand the compelling-reason and inadmissibility framework before using the term TRP.
Read the TRP sectionStart with the authority responsible for the decision
IRCC or CBSA decides whether a refugee claim is eligible for referral. The Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board decides the referred claim. The Refugee Appeal Division hears qualifying appeals. CBSA enforces removal.
If you are making a claim
Use the IRCC Portal inside Canada or tell a CBSA officer at a port of entry. Complete the current forms and attend biometrics, medical and eligibility appointments.
If the RPD refuses the claim
Check whether a RAD appeal is available, then protect the notice and record deadlines. Judicial review and PRRA are different procedures.
If temporary status expired
Restoration normally has a 90-day limit. H&C and a TRP are not generic extensions and do not create ordinary maintained status.
If you need protection, check eligibility before relying on an IRB hearing
A claim can be ineligible because of an earlier claim, recognised protection elsewhere, inadmissibility, a removal order, the Safe Third Country Agreement or the new timing rules applying to claims made on or after 3 June 2025.
If the claim is eligible, IRCC or CBSA refers it to the RPD. The claimant must keep the Basis of Claim form accurate, send evidence by the applicable deadline and attend the hearing.
If a claim was refused or status expired, do not mix the available remedies
A RAD appeal challenges an eligible RPD refusal. Judicial review asks the Federal Court to review a legal or procedural error. PRRA is available only after CBSA gives the person a notification. H&C examines exceptional humanitarian circumstances but does not stay removal.
If protection is accepted, use the protected-person process
A person accepted by the RPD or through a positive PRRA normally becomes a protected person and may apply for permanent residence. This is not private refugee sponsorship and it is not the ordinary family-sponsorship route.
Use IRCC’s current protected-person application package. List the required family members truthfully and provide the identity and relationship documents requested.
Refusal, appeal and removal
Keep the RPD decision, written reasons and proof of receipt
Save the notice of decision, written reasons, email, portal notification and any envelope or record showing when you received them. The deadline normally runs from receipt of the written reasons, so the delivery evidence matters.
Keep the Basis of Claim form, amendments, hearing recording if available, claimant evidence, Minister’s evidence, witness information and every procedural direction. A lawyer needs the complete record to identify the error and the correct remedy.
Do not change the BOC or witness statement after the refusal to make it look more consistent. Explain any genuine correction and preserve the earlier version.
Check whether a Refugee Appeal Division appeal is available
The Refugee Appeal Division, known as the RAD, reviews qualifying Refugee Protection Division refusals. A claimant cannot use the RAD in every case.
The IRB lists exclusions that include a claim found to have no credible basis or to be manifestly unfounded, a withdrawn or abandoned claim, a claimant designated as a foreign national, and certain claims referred as an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement.
If RAD is unavailable, Federal Court judicial review may be the immediate route. The decision and statute must be checked quickly because the court filing period for a matter arising in Canada is normally 15 days.
Protect the notice deadline and appellant’s-record deadline separately
The notice of appeal must normally reach the RAD no later than 15 calendar days after the day the written RPD reasons were received. It starts the appeal but does not replace the detailed appellant’s record.
The current IRB practice gives up to 45 calendar days after receipt of the written reasons to file the appellant’s record. The record contains the legal and factual argument and the documents the appellant relies on.
If either deadline has passed, an extension application must be made in writing without delay and must satisfy the applicable RAD rules. An extension is not automatic. Send the refusal to a Canadian refugee lawyer immediately rather than waiting for a missing supporting document.
Build the appeal around reviewable errors
Identify each finding challenged, the relevant part of the hearing record, the legal or factual error and the remedy requested. A long repetition of the original story is not a focused appeal.
The RAD does not automatically accept new evidence. Where new material is proposed, explain when it arose, why it was not reasonably available earlier and how it meets the statutory requirements. Preserve the original file and source.
The RAD often decides on the written record. An oral hearing is held only where the legal requirements are met. Follow the current IRB instructions on format, service and electronic filing.
If the Minister intervenes, read the materials and response deadline immediately. The IRB normally waits for the permitted reply period before deciding.
Federal Court judicial review requires leave and a legal basis
A person asking the Federal Court to review an immigration or refugee decision must first obtain leave from a judge. The application is not a new refugee hearing and does not automatically allow all evidence to be presented again.
For a matter arising in Canada, section 72 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act normally requires service and filing within 15 days after notification or awareness of the decision. A matter arising outside Canada normally has a 60-day period.
If the period has expired, the application must request an extension and explain the special reasons. Court proceedings are technical. Use a Canadian lawyer authorised to practise before the Federal Court.
A judicial-review filing does not always stay removal. Where enforcement is imminent, the lawyer must assess whether a separate stay motion is required and whether there is time to bring it.
Understand when the removal order becomes enforceable
Most claimants receive a conditional removal order during the claim process. It is not enforceable while an eligible claim is pending, but it can come into force after an ineligibility, withdrawal, abandonment or final negative decision.
If a departure order is in force, the person normally must leave Canada within 30 days and arrange for CBSA to confirm the departure. Failure to do both can turn the departure order into a deportation order.
An ineligible-claim information sheet may state that the removal order comes into force seven days after the ineligibility decision unless it is stayed. A rejected RPD or RAD claim follows different statutory timing. Use the individual notice rather than a general article.
Attend removal interviews and comply with reporting conditions. Missing an interview can lead to a Canada-wide arrest warrant. If there is a genuine legal barrier to removal, the lawyer must raise it through the proper procedure.
A pre-removal risk assessment is available only after CBSA notification
A PRRA assesses whether removal would expose the person to persecution, torture, risk to life or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment. It is connected to the removal process and is not an open application that anyone can file at any time.
CBSA checks eligibility and gives the person a Notification Regarding a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. Do not submit a self-created PRRA package before that notification. Use the form, address and deadlines in the notice.
In most cases there is a 12-month waiting period after the last negative IRB, Federal Court or previous PRRA decision, or after withdrawal or abandonment. Canada publishes country-specific exemptions where changed conditions justify access sooner.
A person whose claim was ineligible because of the Safe Third Country Agreement cannot apply for a PRRA. Other ineligible claimants may be assessed when CBSA begins removal and confirms eligibility.
A first, on-time PRRA normally stays removal while it is decided. A later application, late filing or port-of-entry application may not. The notice and official guide must be checked.
PRRA material usually focuses on new risk evidence that was not reasonably available at the refugee hearing. It is not a routine appeal of the old credibility decision. A positive result normally makes the person a protected person. A negative result leaves the person subject to removal unless a court grants a stay.
Humanitarian and compassionate grounds use a different test
Humanitarian and compassionate consideration, known as H&C, concerns exceptional circumstances, establishment in Canada, the best interests of affected children and other hardship. It is not a second refugee claim and cannot normally be filed while a refugee claim is pending.
A person with a negative, withdrawn or abandoned refugee claim normally faces a 12-month H&C bar. The public guidance lists exceptions where a child under 18 would be directly and adversely affected or a life-threatening medical condition cannot be treated in the country of return.
An H&C application does not prevent or delay removal. The person must comply with the removal order unless a legal stay exists. A refused H&C application has no ordinary appeal, although Federal Court review may be available.
Do not withdraw a pending refugee claim simply to file H&C without legal advice. Withdrawal changes the protection process, removal position and later bars.
Use a lawyer or authorised representative for the remedy required
RAD and Federal Court deadlines are short. A Canadian lawyer is usually the safest choice for refusal, court and stay work. Provincial legal aid may fund eligible refugee matters.
Paid immigration advice may also be provided by a lawyer or paralegal in good standing with a provincial or territorial law society, a Quebec notary, or an immigration consultant in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants, within their authorised scope.
Check the regulator before paying. A person who promises to guarantee an appeal, erase a removal order or submit a private PRRA without CBSA notice is not following the official process.
What to check next
Put the RPD notice, written reasons, proof of receipt, BOC, hearing record, evidence, removal order and every CBSA notice in one dated file. Ask the lawyer to identify RAD eligibility, the 15-day filing date, whether a Federal Court application is required and whether removal is presently stayed.
If CBSA has issued a PRRA notification, use that document’s deadlines and instructions. If no notification exists, do not assume that a PRRA application can be started independently.
Lost status, restoration and humanitarian options
Confirm when temporary resident status ended
Start with the passport entry stamp, visitor record, study permit, work permit and every IRCC account message. The visa sticker used to travel to Canada does not determine how long a person may remain after entry.
If there was no entry stamp or visitor record, a visitor is usually admitted for six months, subject to the border officer’s decision. A worker or student should read the status-expiry or must-leave date on the permit and any later record.
List every application made before or after expiry. Save the online submission confirmation, payment receipt, form version, document checklist and any message that the application was returned, rejected, withdrawn or refused.
An in-time extension may create maintained status
A temporary resident who applies to extend or change their authorised stay before it expires may remain in Canada while IRCC decides. This is called maintained status.
A worker who applied in time for another work permit may be allowed to keep working under the same conditions while the application is pending, provided the person remains in Canada and the relevant rules are met. A worker who applied to change to visitor or student status must stop working when the old permit expires.
The application must reach IRCC before the precise expiry time used by the online system. An application submitted after expiry does not create maintained status.
If an in-time application was incomplete or returned, ask an authorised representative whether maintained status ever arose or ended. Do not rely only on the fact that a payment left the bank account.
Restoration normally requires filing within 90 days
A visitor, student or worker may apply to restore temporary resident status within 90 days after losing it where the regulatory conditions are met. The person must have complied with the conditions of the previous stay apart from the loss being addressed.
Each family member who lost status needs their own restoration application and fee. The application should explain what happened and request the correct visitor, student or worker status.
A former worker must stop working after status is lost. A restoration application allows the person to remain in Canada while IRCC decides, but normally does not authorise work until status and the new work permit are granted.
Restoration is discretionary. Filing within 90 days does not guarantee approval. If it is refused, the person must leave Canada unless another lawful basis exists.
Use coordinated universal time for an online filing deadline. The local date in Canada may differ from the IRCC system date near midnight.
After 90 days, there is no general restoration route
A person outside a specific public policy normally must leave Canada and apply again from outside if the 90-day restoration period has passed. Do not submit a late restoration form on the assumption that IRCC will overlook the date.
Canada sometimes creates narrow public policies for defined emergencies or groups. For example, temporary measures can extend restoration time for people directly affected by specified domestic natural disasters. A person must meet every condition of that policy. The existence of one special measure does not extend the general 90-day rule for everybody.
An authorised representative should check whether another in-Canada route, court remedy or public policy actually applies. Avoid an agent who advertises a secret extension code.
Check whether an ordinary work, study, visitor, family or permanent-residence route fits
Restoring worker or student status does not waive the requirements for the new permit. A worker may still need an employer-specific basis, labour-market approval or recognised exemption. A student still needs an eligible school and current study-permit requirements.
A spouse or common-law partner in Canada may have a sponsorship or open-work-permit question. A provincial nomination or permanent-residence application may support a separate permit only where the specific programme allows it.
A permanent-residence expression of interest, profile or pending application does not automatically give temporary status. Identify the exact legal bridge before relying on it.
Private refugee sponsorship is for the resettlement of eligible refugees from outside Canada. It is not a way to cure an overstay inside Canada.
Humanitarian and compassionate consideration is exceptional permanent-residence relief
An H&C application asks IRCC to grant permanent residence or an exemption based on exceptional humanitarian circumstances. It is not a routine status extension, a refugee appeal or a programme with automatic points.
Relevant evidence may include establishment in Canada, family ties, consequences of removal, the best interests of directly affected children, health, dependency and other hardship. The strength and weight of each factor depend on the whole record.
A person cannot normally apply for H&C while a refugee claim is pending. A negative, withdrawn or abandoned refugee claim normally creates a 12-month bar. The public guidance lists exceptions for certain affected children and life-threatening medical conditions that cannot be treated in the country of return.
An H&C application does not stop or delay removal. The person must comply with a removal order unless a court or authority grants a stay. There is no ordinary appeal from an H&C refusal, although Federal Court judicial review may be possible.
Do not withdraw a refugee claim or miss a restoration deadline merely because somebody suggests H&C. The procedures protect different interests and have different consequences.
A temporary resident permit is not the same as restoration
A temporary resident permit, known as a TRP, can allow a foreign national who is inadmissible or does not meet the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to enter or remain temporarily where there is a compelling reason.
The officer weighs the person’s need against health, safety and other risks to Canadian society. A past overstay or unauthorised work can fall within the non-compliance issues considered, but it does not create entitlement to a TRP.
TRPs are discretionary and exceptional. The applicant must identify the compelling temporary purpose and address the inadmissibility or non-compliance. A wish to avoid leaving after ordinary status expired is not enough by itself.
An initial TRP application does not create maintained status. A current TRP holder seeking another TRP also does not keep status merely because the application is pending. Read the permit end date carefully.
Specific TRP frameworks exist for victims of human trafficking, family violence and some other vulnerable groups. Use the dedicated official process where the facts meet it. Do not force an ordinary status problem into a victim-protection category.
Keep asylum, PRRA and temporary-status repair separate
A person who fears persecution or serious harm on return may need refugee protection advice. The current asylum eligibility rules include a one-year first-entry bar for some claims made on or after 3 June 2025, so an expired permit and date of first entry can be legally important.
PRRA is part of the removal process and is available only after CBSA says the person is eligible. It is not a status-restoration form and cannot be filed privately whenever a person wishes.
Do not invent a protection account to repair temporary status. A false claim can cause refusal, enforcement and future immigration consequences.
Respond promptly to CBSA notices and removal orders
If CBSA issues a reporting notice, removal interview or removal order, attend and take the complete documents to a Canadian immigration lawyer. A pending H&C or TRP application does not automatically suspend enforcement.
A departure order normally requires confirmed departure within 30 days after it becomes enforceable. Failure to comply can turn it into a deportation order and create a later authorisation-to-return problem.
Do not hide, work without authorisation or pay anybody who promises to delete an enforcement record. A lawyer can identify whether a stay motion, PRRA, judicial review or other lawful response is available.
Prepare one complete status and residence file
Collect passports, entry stamps, visitor records, study and work permits, IRCC submissions, payment receipts, account messages, employer letters, school records, refusals, restoration papers and CBSA notices. Add a dated status chronology.
For H&C, collect independent evidence of residence, work, community activity, family care, children’s education and health, and the likely effect of removal. Explain gaps rather than filling them with unreliable letters.
For family routes, obtain genuine birth, marriage, divorce and custody records. For work or study, obtain genuine academic and employment records. Ask the authorised representative whether translation, certification, authentication or verification is required.
Antarch Consulting can help obtain or organise Nigerian documents after the Canadian procedure and exact checklist are identified. It does not decide whether restoration, H&C or a TRP should be filed.
What to check next
Write down the status expiry, the time and date of every IRCC submission, what status was requested and whether work or study continued. Ask an authorised representative to confirm maintained status, the 90-day restoration end date and any active CBSA deadline.
Do not combine restoration, H&C and a TRP into one vague request. Choose the legal procedure that answers the actual problem and prepare the evidence that procedure requires.
Check the official Canadian sources for your situation
These sources were checked on 5 September 2026. Current legislation, IRCC or CBSA instructions, IRB rules and the individual’s notice control.
- In-Canada asylum claimRead the current IRCC processEligibility, online filing, appointments, work and decision stages.
- Safe Third Country AgreementCheck the Canada-US rules and exceptionsWhere the agreement applies and the listed exception categories.
- Refugee appealRead the RAD filing guideEligibility, notice, record and extension process.
- Lost temporary statusCheck the restoration rulesThe normal 90-day limit and activity restrictions.
- Refusal optionsCompare the official post-refusal routesRAD, PRRA, Federal Court and H&C.
- Federal CourtRead the court’s immigration review guideLeave, service, filing and the 15-day or 60-day periods.
- PRRA eligibilityCheck who can applyCBSA notification, exclusions and the normal 12-month wait.
- PRRA applicationRead Guide 5523Risk assessment, documents, filing and effect on removal.
- H&CRead the humanitarian guidanceBars, exceptions and removal consequences.
- Maintained worker statusRead the work-permit extension guidanceIn-time filing, continued stay and work conditions.
- Visitor extensionCheck the visitor-record processWho can extend or change to visitor status and when to apply.
- Temporary resident permitCheck who can request a TRPCompelling reasons, inadmissibility and lack of maintained status.
- Authorised representativesCheck who may charge for adviceLawyers, Quebec notaries and authorised consultants.
Understand what Antarch Consulting can help you prepare
Use a Nigerian document only when the receiving authority or regulated adviser identifies it. Follow the written preparation instructions for that exact procedure, including any translation, authentication or legalization expressly required.
Canadian lawyers, Quebec notaries and authorised immigration consultants give individual advice within their permitted scope. IRCC, CBSA, the IRB and courts make the decisions. Antarch Consulting does not assess refugee claims, draft Basis of Claim accounts, coach testimony, promise status or help anyone avoid removal.