Step 2: Send your Basis of Claim form

The Basis of Claim (BOC) form is used to explain ​why you need refugee protection. It includes your personal information and the reasons you can’t return to your country. The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) uses this form to help decide your case.

On this page

• What is the Basis of Claim (BOC) form
• Provide a BOC form for each member of your family
• Are you a minor under 18
• When to send your BOC form
• Sending your BOC form if you made your refugee claim at a port of entry
• Which language to use on the BOC form
• Changing the BOC form after it is sent

What is the Basis of Claim (BOC) form

The Basis of Claim (BOC) form is part of your refugee claim. It is for you to tell us:

• who you are
• who or what you fear in your country
• how and why you have been harmed or persecuted in your country
• why you cannot return to your country

Answer all the questions with as much information as you have.

If you need help with your BOC form

We encourage you to get help from a professional to complete your BOC form. The professionals are called counsel.

See Get ready for your hearing for more information about counsel.

The BOC form is important for your refugee claim

Your claim will be decided by a member of the Refugee Protection Division (RPD). The member will decide if you need refugee protection. The member will consider:

• what you wrote in your BOC form
• what you say at your hearing
• other evidence you send

At your hearing, the member may ask you questions about anything you put in your BOC form and things not included in your BOC form.

Include materials that support your claim

When you send your BOC form to the RPD, include copies of all identity and travel documents you have. If some documents were already taken or copied at the border or by officers, they will have already sent these to the IRB.

You should also send copies of any other important documents that support your claim. The documents are called evidence.

Provide a BOC form for each member of your family

Each member of your family who claims refugee protection needs to fill out a BOC form.

Children 6 years old or younger with a parent: The parent or the person named by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) to represent the minor should complete only the “who you are” section of the BOC form.

Children 7 to 17 years old with a parent: The parent or person named by the IRB should complete the BOC form. You must answer every question on the BOC form.

Do you need to sign your BOC form

If you send the BOC form to the RPD using an electronic method, you do not need to sign the form. You only need to enter the date.

If you send the form to the RPD by mail or courier, or you take the form to an IRB office, you and your adult family members must sign and date the form. The parent or representative of a minor claimant must sign and date the minor claimant’s form.

See Sending evidence to support your claim for more information on how to send your BOC form to the RPD.

Are ​you a minor under 18

Children under 18 years of age are called minors.

The IRB has special guidance for minors to help them.
See Chairperson’s Guideline 3: Proceedings Involving Minors at the Immigration and Refugee Board for more information.  

If you are a minor, the RPD will appoint a person to help you with your case. This person is called a designated representative. They will make sure you understand everything and will support you during the process.

If you are:

• with your parents or a guardian, one of them will usually be your designated representative
• alone or separated from your family, the RPD will choose a designated representative for you 

See Get ready for your hearing for more information about the role of a designated representative and how they can help you.

When to send your BOC form

1. Port of entry claimants

You must send your BOC form to the RPD within 45 calendar days after the day your claim was sent to the RPD.

If you need extra time

If you cannot send your BOC form in 45 calendar days, you can ask for more time using the Application to extend time to send the Basis of Claim form.

On the form, explain why you need extra time. The RPD must get the form at least 3 working days before your BOC form is due. Do not count the weekend days. If your request is approved, the RPD will tell you the new due date.

What happens if you send your BOC form late

If you do not send your BOC form by the due date, you will be required to appear at a special hearing. The special hearing is called an abandonment hearing.

You will get a Notice to Appear letter for the special hearing. This notice will include the date, time, and place of your special hearing. If you have a counsel, we will send the letter to them. Your counsel will share this with you. If you do not have a counsel, we will send the Notice to Appear letter to you directly. 

If your claim is abandoned, the RPD will not hear your refugee claim. You will not be allowed to make another claim in the future. You will probably have to leave Canada.

If the member accepts your reasons and evidence, your claim can continue.

Sending your BOC form if you made your refugee claim at a port of entry

If you made your refugee claim at the port of entry, we encourage you to send your BOC form to the RPD using electronic methods, such as IRB’s My Case portal.

See My Case - Who Can Register for information on whether you can use the My Case portal.

You can also send the BOC form to the RPD by mail or courier, or you can drop it off to an IRB office.

See Sending evidence to support your claim for more information.

2. Inland claimants

If you are already in Canada, start your refugee claim using the IRCC portal. You will answer questions and send your BOC form and documents directly through the portal. IRCC uses the information to decide if you can make a refugee claim. The IRCC officer will send your form to the RPD if they decide that your claim can be made.

Once you start your application on the portal, you have 90 days to give your answers and send your documents. If you do not finish it in 90 days, you must start over.

Which language to use on the BOC form

You must complete your BOC form in English or French. A BOC form cannot be completed in a different language.

If an interpreter helped you complete the BOC form, they must sign the interpreter’s declaration on the form.

The interpreter’s declaration includes:

• the interpreter's name
• the translated language and dialect (if any)
• a statement that the translation is accurate

Documents must be translated by a human translator. The RPD will not accept documents translated by software, artificial intelligence (AI), or web services like Google Translate.

If you completed the form by yourself without an interpreter, you must fill out the declaration at the end of your BOC form. The declaration states that you yourself read and understood all the information you have given on the BOC form. 

Sending the BOC form using electronic methods

You and the interpreter only need to enter the date the form was completed. You do not need to sign the form.

If you send the form to the RPD by mail, courier, or take it to an IRB office, you and the interpreter must sign and date it.

Changing the BOC form after it is sent

If you made a mistake, forgot to add something important, or if there is new information you wish to add, you can change your BOC form. You will need to:

• underline the information you want to change or add and cross out the information you want to remove
• write the date on the pages you change
• fill in the last page of the form: Your declaration as a claimant
• send the changed pages and that last page of the BOC form to the RPD

See Sending evidence to support your claim for more information.

The RPD will send a copy of the changed pages to IRCC or CBSA.

For questions, call an IRB representative at 1-833-931-5121.