The facilitative measures to support those affected by the situation in the Port of Beirut, Lebanon that were enacted on September 2, 2020, have expired as of January 31, 2021. To note, no new applications will be accepted under these facilitative measures. Program delivery instructions relating to these facilitative measures have been deleted.

However, applications received from persons indicating they were affected by the explosion in Beirut will be assessed, independently, on a case-by-case basis.

on February 19, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that individuals from Belarus may now be eligible to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) if they received a final negative decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) of Canada or the Federal Court, or a final PRRA decision from IRCC on or between February 20, 2020 and February 19, 2021.

• If someone’s refugee claim or previous application for a PRRA is rejected, abandoned or withdrawn, they are not eligible to apply for a PRRA for at least 12 months.

However, the worsening conditions in Belarus could put individuals in a risk situation, in which case they may warrant an additional assessment. For this reason, some individuals from Belarus are now exempt from the 12-month bar on applying for a PRRA, depending on when they received a decision on their refugee claim.

• Individuals from Belarus who receive a final negative decision after February 19, 2021 are not eligible to apply for a PRRA for 12 months. Any recent changes in country conditions would have been considered when the refugee claim was decided or during the PRRA process.

It is important to note that eligibility to apply for a PRRA does not guarantee its outcome. IRCC officers will continue to decide on each case individually, based on the information provided. Individuals are responsible for keeping their PRRA application up to date and informing IRCC of any changes to their application.

In determining which countries to exempt, IRCC considers recent events in a country that could place individuals in a risk situation similar to those defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (section 96—definition of a “Convention refugee” and section 97—definition of a “person in need of protection”).

IRPA 96 – Convention refugee

96 (1) A Convention refugee is a person who, by reason of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion,

(a) is outside each of their countries of nationality and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of each of those countries; or

(b) not having a country of nationality, is outside the country of their former habitual residence and is unable or, by reason of that fear, unwilling to return to that country.

IRPA 97 – Person in need of protection

97 A person in need of protection is a person in Canada whose removal to their country or countries of nationality or, if they do not have a country of nationality, their country of former habitual residence, would subject them personally

(a) to a danger, believed on substantial grounds to exist, of torture within the meaning of Article 1 of the Convention Against Torture; or

(b) to a risk to their life or to a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment if

(i) the person is unable or, because of that risk, unwilling to avail themself of the protection of that country,

(ii) the risk would be faced by the person in every part of that country and is not faced generally by other individuals in or from that country,

(iii) the risk is not inherent or incidental to lawful sanctions, unless imposed in disregard of accepted international standards, and

(iv) the risk is not caused by the inability of that country to provide adequate health or medical care.

(2) A person in Canada who is a member of a class of persons prescribed by the regulations as being in need of protection is also a person in need of protection.