My refugee claim was accepted. What’s next?

If the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) accepts your refugee claim, you become a protected person and can stay in Canada.

Apply for permanent residence

Most protected persons can apply for permanent resident status for themselves and their close family members. You can apply even if those family members are outside Canada. Family members include:

• your spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner
• your dependent children and your partner's dependent children
• any dependent children of you or your partner's dependent children

The process can take years, so apply as soon as possible. It's best to have a lawyer or licensed representative review your application.

Dependent child

Your child may be your dependent child if they depend on you because they're either:

• under the age of 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship, or
• age 22 or older and financially dependent on their parents since before they were 22 because they have a physical or mental condition that stops them from supporting themselves.

A dependent child can be biological, which means born to their parents, or adopted.

Even if the child is over age 22 now, you can still apply for permanent residence for them if:

• at the time that you filed your refugee claim they were under age 22 and not married or in a common-law relationship, and
• they are still not married or in a common-law relationship

Get legal advice about applying for permanent residence for children over age 22, if you're not sure.

Apply for healthcare coverage

Apply for an Ontario Health Insurance Program (OHIP) card at Service Ontario. Your coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) expires 90 days after your claim is accepted.

Renew your permits

Until you become a permanent resident, you must have valid work or study permits if you want to work or study. Apply to renew them before they expire.

CLEO's Guided Pathways offer a free online tool to help you fill out the forms to apply for an open work permit.

Residency obligation

Once you become a permanent resident, you must meet the residency obligation. You usually must be in Canada for at least 730 days in every 5-year period to keep that status.

Keep your refugee protection

You can lose your refugee protection in Canada and your permanent resident status if you:

• travel to your home country, even for a short time,
• apply for a passport from your home country, even if you do not use it to travel,
• travel to any country using a passport from your home country,
• return to live in your home country, buy a home, or start a business there, or
• become a citizen of a country other than Canada.

If you are thinking of doing any of those things, get legal advice first.

Criminal charges

If you're charged with a crime, get legal advice from both a criminal lawyer and a refugee lawyer about the potential impacts on your status. Some crimes put your status at risk.

Refugee travel document

You can apply for a Convention Refugee Travel Document to travel to other countries, but not the country you claimed refugee protection against.

Canadian citizenship

You cannot apply for citizenship right away, but it's helpful to start learning about the process.