What is a Basis of Claim form?

The Basis of Claim (BOC) form is an important document that every refugee claimant must complete. It is used to decide if your refugee claim should be accepted.

In the BOC, you tell your story about why you're claiming refugee protection in Canada. And you explain why you meet the definition of a Convention Refugee or a .

The BOC is a very complicated document. It has important questions you must answer about who you are and your refugee claim. You must complete the BOC carefully and correctly.

If any information in the BOC is missing, not true, or different from other information, your claim could be refused.

Timelines

If you make your refugee claim at a Port of Entry, you must complete your BOC within 45 days of being found eligible to make a claim.

If you miss this deadline, there will be a special hearing to decide if your refugee claim is . If your refugee claim is considered abandoned, you lose the right to have your refugee claim decided and you cannot make another refugee claim.

Port-of-Entry refugee claim flowchart

CLEO

Learn how to make a refugee claim at an airport, marine port, or border

To make your refugee claim from inside Canada, you use the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship (IRCC) Portal. With the portal, you complete and submit the BOC online at the same time that you make your application.

Inland refugee claim flowchart

CLEO

Learn how to make a refugee claim in Canada

Get legal help

It's very important that you get legal help to complete your BOC from a lawyer or other licensed representative. They can help you:

explain how you meet the definition of Convention Refugee or person in need of protection
avoid making mistakes or deal with any mistakes you may have made when giving information in the past

Follow these steps to open and save an immigration form as a PDF using Adobe Acrobat Reader. You cannot open the forms on a phone or tablet. You must use a computer or laptop.