Protection Before Removal

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA)

If you are facing removal from Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) may notify you that you can apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA). A PRRA gives you an opportunity to explain the danger you believe you would face if returned to your country.

01 What Is a PRRA?

A Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is a process that evaluates whether an individual facing removal from Canada would be at risk if returned to their country of origin. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) assesses whether returning the person would expose them to persecution, torture, a risk to life, or cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

A PRRA is not available on request at any time. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) first determines whether you may apply and gives you a formal notification with the filing instructions and deadlines.

02 Who Can Apply?

Eligibility depends on your removal process and immigration history. Review the main rules below.

You Must Be Notified by CBSA

You can apply only after a CBSA officer confirms that you are eligible and gives you a Notification Regarding a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. This normally occurs after CBSA starts the removal process.

The 12-Month Rule

In most cases, you must wait 12 months after the latest negative decision on a refugee claim or earlier PRRA, including a withdrawal or abandonment, or after the Federal Court refuses the related review. Exemptions may apply because of conditions in a country; check IRCC’s current exemption list.

When a PRRA Is Not Available

You cannot apply if your refugee claim was found ineligible because of the Safe Third Country Agreement, you were recognized as a Convention refugee in another country to which you can return, you already have protected person status in Canada, or you are subject to extradition.

03 What Risks Does IRCC Assess?

IRCC assesses risk in the country of your nationality or, if you have no country of nationality, the country where you usually lived. Select a ground to see the applicable test.

Well-Founded Fear of Persecution

The fear must relate to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group. The assessment also considers whether you are unable or unwilling to return or seek protection in that country because of the fear.

Danger of Torture

IRCC considers whether returning you would personally expose you to a danger of torture.

Risk to Life or Cruel and Unusual Treatment or Punishment

The risk must be personal, exist throughout the country, and not be one generally faced by others there. It must not arise simply from lawful sanctions that comply with international standards or from the country’s inability to provide adequate health or medical care.

Assessment for Certain Inadmissible or Excluded Applicants

Special rules apply to applicants affected by serious criminality, security, human or international rights violations, organized criminality, exclusion under the Refugee Convention, or a security certificate. Depending on the ground and conviction, the risk assessment may be limited, and the decision also considers the danger the person may present to Canada.

Evidence After an Earlier Decision

If a refugee claim or earlier PRRA was rejected, evidence must generally be new: it arose after the rejection, was not reasonably available before it, or could not reasonably have been presented in time. IRCC considers the application, the immigration file, written submissions and admissible new evidence, as well as the earlier refugee decision where applicable.

04 Does a PRRA Stop Removal?

A PRRA can temporarily pause removal, but this depends on when and how you apply.

First PRRA Application

Removal is generally paused when CBSA formally notifies you that you may apply for your first PRRA. You must submit your application by the deadline to keep this protection while IRCC assesses it. Missing the deadline can allow removal to proceed.

When Removal May Continue

Submitting a PRRA application does not automatically stop removal if you apply late, apply again after a previous refusal, or apply at a port of entry.

Leaving Canada Before a Decision

If you voluntarily leave Canada while your PRRA application is pending, it is treated as abandoned and rejected.

05 How to Apply

The application is normally decided in writing, although IRCC may require a hearing. The usual stages are:

Read the CBSA Notification

Confirm the filing method, IRCC office and separate deadlines for the application form and supporting material. These dates determine whether the application is on time.

Prepare the Application and Evidence

Complete the PRRA application form and prepare written submissions and documents that connect the claimed risk to your personal circumstances. Each family member in Canada who is 18 or older and applying must complete a separate form.

Submit by the Required Deadlines

Send the signed application and any written submissions or evidence using the method and address in the notification. Keep proof that IRCC received the material on time.

Respond During IRCC’s Review

Keep your contact details and evidence up to date. IRCC may schedule a hearing where a credibility issue is central to the decision and will provide notice of the issues to be discussed.

Receive the Decision

CBSA informs you of the decision in person. The legal result depends on whether the application is accepted and whether special restrictions apply to your case.

06 What Does the Decision Mean?

Protected Person Status in Most Cases

An accepted PRRA normally gives you protected person status. You may then apply for permanent residence, subject to the requirements of that application.

A Stay Without Protected Person Status

For applicants subject to the special restrictions described above, a positive risk finding may stay removal to the country concerned but does not grant protected person status or eligibility to apply for permanent residence through that result. The stay may later be reviewed if circumstances change.

Removal May Proceed

If the application is rejected, you must leave Canada. You may ask the Federal Court to review the decision, but filing that application does not itself stop removal; a court-ordered stay is required.

07 Frequently Asked Questions

Can I apply for a PRRA whenever I believe it is unsafe to return?

No. You can apply only after CBSA determines that you are eligible and gives you a PRRA notification. Waiting periods and statutory exclusions may apply.

Can I rely on the same evidence used in my refugee claim?

If your refugee claim was rejected, the PRRA is generally limited to evidence that arose later, was not reasonably available before, or could not reasonably have been presented in time. The evidence must also address the risk you would personally face.

Will there always be a PRRA hearing?

No. Most PRRA applications are decided from the written record. IRCC may require a hearing where a credibility issue is central and the evidence could affect the result.

Can I work while my first PRRA is being processed?

You may be able to continue working under a valid work permit, or apply for a work permit, if your first PRRA was submitted on time. A late or repeat PRRA does not provide the same work authorization, and you must not work without a valid permit.

Does a PRRA consider humanitarian hardship in Canada?

A PRRA assesses the danger you would face on return, not hardship arising from leaving Canada or your establishment here. Humanitarian and compassionate relief is a different process with its own requirements.

Can I challenge a negative PRRA decision?

You may apply to the Federal Court for leave and judicial review. Strict deadlines apply, and removal is not automatically suspended unless the Court grants a stay.

Talk to a Licensed Expert

Facing removal and invited to apply for a PRRA?

Get personilized guidance to review the notification and prior decisions, identify the evidence and deadlines that apply, and prepare focused submissions.

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