Glossary

In Immigration Law, Refugee Law

The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board makes a cessation order if it decides that a protected person no longer needs Canada’s protection. A cessation order can lead to a protected person being ordered to leave Canada.

If Canada Border Services Agency applies to the RPD for a cessation order, the protected person has the right to a hearing.

In Immigration Law, Refugee Law

A common-law partner is someone who you’ve lived with, for at least one year, in a conjugal or marriage-like relationship. It does not matter what their sex or gender is.

Common-law also means a conjugal partner that you’ve lived with for less than a year if you could not live together because it was against the law, or because you’d be persecuted.

Common-law is defined differently in other areas of the law, like family law.

In Immigration Law, Refugee Law

A conjugal partner is someone who you’ve had a conjugal or marriage-like relationship with for at least one year. It does not matter what their sex or gender is. You do not have to live together. For example, you might come from a country where your relationship is against the law.

But if you could have lived together and chose not to, it can be hard to prove that your relationship is conjugal.

In Immigration Law, Refugee Law

A Convention refugee is someone who has left their country and is not able or not willing to return. This is because they have good reason to fear that they will be persecuted because of:

• race,
• religion,
• nationality,
• political opinion, or
• being a member of a particular social group.

Their country is also not able or not willing to protect them, and they cannot reasonably and safely live in another part of their country.