You will get a Notice to Appear letter telling you the date, time, and place of your hearing. It will have instructions on how to join the hearing. If you have a counsel, we will send the letter to them. Your counsel will share the letter with you. If you do not have a counsel, we will send the letter to you directly.
On this page
Get support from the IRB based on your personal situation
Are you under 18 and not with an adult
If you are under 18 years of age, you are called a minor. If you are a minor who made your refugee claim alone, the IRB will appoint a person to help you with your case. This person is called a designated representative.
Your designated representative will:
- help you understand everything about your claim
- protect your interests
- help you find a counsel if you want one
- help you gather evidence to support your claim
- go to your hearing with you or for you
Important: The designated representative is not your counsel. They are a free resource appointed by the IRB to help you understand the refugee claim process and support you during it.
See the Designated representative guide for more information.
Assistance or accommodations to help you make your claim
If you need support to participate in your hearing, the RPD can help you. The reasons you might need help include:
- a disability or medical condition (for example, deaf or hard of hearing)
- your age
- if you have experienced gender-based violence or harm
Some examples of support could be having:
- a hearing with a Refugee Protection Division (RPD) member of a particular gender
- a support person with you at your hearing
- your hearing in-person at an IRB office
Anyone can ask for help to support their hearing. If you need this, write to the RPD:
- make your request as early as you can
- describe the help you need, and why you need it
More information is available:
If the IRCC or the CBSA (Minister’s counsel) is participating in your claim, send a copy of your request to the Minister’s counsel. You can find their address on the Notice of Intention to Intervene letter.
See Get ready for your hearing for more information. It will tell you how to prepare for the hearing, where the hearing will be, and who can be at the hearing.
Virtual hearing
Your Notice to Appear letter explains how and when to connect to your hearing. Virtual hearings use the Microsoft Teams application. You or your counsel will get a link to join the hearing. We will send you the link about 5 days before your hearing.
If you do not get the link to your hearing, contact your counsel. If you do not have a counsel, call an IRB representative at 1-833-931-5121.
If you are using your own computer to connect to the hearing, make sure that you have a private space, at your home or somewhere else, on the day of your hearing. Do not go to a public place like a coffee shop or library.
Before your hearing
- Review the Refugee Protection Division virtual hearing guide
- Install the free Microsoft Teams program on your device
- Check if your video and audio are working
On the day of your hearing
Your hearing will begin when everyone has connected online.
- Use the link we sent you
- Join the meeting 15 minutes before the start time written on your Notice to Appear
- An RPD employee will join the hearing and make sure everything works so you are ready for the hearing
- If you are using an interpreter, you and the interpreter will speak before the hearing begins to make sure you understand each other
Make sure you have all your documents with you, including:
- your Basis of Claim (BOC) form
- your Notice to Appear
- the originals and a copy of all evidence you already sent to the RPD
Only look at your documents if the RPD member asks you.
The RPD member might want to see your original documents. If so, they will tell you how to send the original documents to the RPD.
In-person hearing
Your Notice to Appear will give you the date and time of your hearing. It will also give you the address of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada office that you will go to for the hearing.
On the day of your in-person hearing
You must be at the IRB office 30 minutes before the hearing time. The hearing time is on your Notice to Appear. Go to the reception desk, where they will tell you the room number for your hearing.
Make sure you have all your documents, including:
- your BOC form
- your Notice to Appear
- the originals and a copy of all evidence you already sent to the RPD
What happens at your hearing
Most hearings take less than 3 hours. The RPD member will usually take a short break in the middle of the hearing. You can ask for a break at any time.
The hearing will be recorded. When the hearing starts, the RPD member will tell you when they have started the recording.
1. Introduction
The RPD member will introduce everyone and explain the hearing process.
They will ask you to promise to tell the truth in a solemn affirmation. They will ask you if the information in your BOC form is complete, true, and correct.
Did an interpreter help you with the form
If an interpreter helped you with your BOC form, the member will ask if you understand what information is in your BOC form.
The member must decide if you are a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection under the law. They will use what you say at the hearing, together with your other evidence to decide your claim.
See Refugee Protection in Canada for more information.
The member will tell you the issues they will consider in the hearing.
Examples of issues:
Who or what do you fear, and why
This involves, for example, telling us if you are a member of a group that is persecuted and providing us with evidence that shows this.
Who are you
This involves telling us who you are and which country you are a citizen of, or where you normally lived if you have no citizenship. You can prove your identity with a passport or other government-issued documents.
Are you telling the truth
The member must decide if you are telling the truth. This is one of the reasons the member will ask you questions. Your answers will help them decide if the information you gave in your BOC form and other documents is true.
Can the police and other authorities in your home country protect you
You must explain what efforts you made to get help and give us evidence that shows us you tried to get help. If you did not try to get help, you will be asked to explain why.
Can you move to somewhere in your home country where you will be safe
You must show the RPD member that it is not safe for you to live in any part of your country or that it is not reasonable to expect you to live in another part of your country.
2. RPD member will confirm the evidence
The RPD member will go through all the documents you sent and decide which documents they accept as evidence in your claim.
3. You will answer questions
The RPD member will ask you questions about your claim. If you have counsel, your counsel will also ask you questions.
A representative or counsel of the Minister might come to your hearing. If someone from IRCC or the CBSA is at your hearing, they might also ask you questions about your claim.
You must answer the questions truthfully and as best you can. If you do not understand a question, you should ask the person to repeat or explain the question.
4. Witnesses will answer questions
If you bring a witness to the hearing, they usually speak after you. You usually go first.
A witness usually cannot attend the hearing before they testify. The RPD member will tell the witness when to join the hearing, or to stay in the waiting room until their turn to speak.
5. You make your final remarks to support your claim
At the end of your hearing, the RPD member will ask your counsel to explain why your claim should be accepted. If you do not have counsel, you will explain why you believe your claim should be accepted. This is called making representations.
If someone from IRCC or the CBSA is at your hearing (Minister’s counsel), they may also make representations.
6. The RPD member will decide your claim
The RPD member will decide if your claim is accepted or rejected. If your claim is rejected, this means that the member decided that you are not a Convention refugee or person in need of protection.
The RPD member might be able to give their decision at the end of the hearing. If they need more time to decide, you will get the decision sent to you later.
You will get a written Notice of Decision that explains what the decision is and the reasons for the decision. If you are told that your refugee claim is rejected, we will tell you on the Notice of Decision if you can:
If you are still waiting for the decision, or your claim was rejected
You can sign up for an Appeal Ready Tour for appellants to learn how to prepare and send an appeal.
What happens if you did not go to your hearing
If you did not go to your hearing, we will ask you to come to a special hearing called an abandonment hearing.
The RPD will send you a new Notice to Appear for your abandonment hearing including the date, time, and place. 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.
Important: At your abandonment hearing, your claim will be abandoned unless you provide good reasons and evidence as to why you did not go to your hearing.
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.