3. Apply for a PRRA

There is no fee to apply for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA).

If you're applying for a PRRA for the first time, you must wait for a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer to give you the application form. If you're eligible for a PRRA, the CBSA officer will give you an application form when they're ready to remove you from Canada.

If you already had a PRRA, you don't need to wait for the CBSA officer to give you the application form to apply again. But you aren't eligible to apply for a second PRRA until 12 months have passed since your first application was denied. 

You should get legal advice right away. A lawyer can help you complete the form, gather evidence, and make written submissions about the risk you face if you're removed from Canada.

To apply for a PRRA you need to:

• fill out and submit the application form within 15 days of receiving it, and
• give evidence to show why you're at risk if you're removed from Canada. You must file your evidence no later than 15 days after you submit your application form, or 30 days after you receive the application form from the CBSA officer.

Read the Guide and follow the instructions on the form.

If it's your first PRRA application and you follow the rules in applying, your removal order will be temporarily stayed. This means that you can't be removed from Canada until your PRRA is decided.

But your removal order won't be put on hold if:

• you're making a second PRRA application,
• if you apply for a PRRA at a Port of Entry (POE) because you don't qualify for an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement, or
• you have a removal order that is in force when you're at the POE.

This means that you can be removed from Canada before there is a decision made on your PRRA. Speak with a lawyer about stopping your removal before you apply for a second PRRA. These situations are usually complicated.

A PRRA is decided using the written information and evidence you provide. You don't usually have a hearing. So it's important to be detailed and truthful in your application, and to include any documents that help prove your fear of return to your country.

PRRA hearings are rare. But a hearing must take place for people who are not eligible to make a refugee claim because they already made a claim in another country that has an information sharing agreement with Canada. And in some cases, your lawyer or legal representative can request a hearing if the immigration officer has concerns about the truthfulness of the evidence you've provided.

An Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) officer reviews your PRRA using the same legal test that the Refugee Board uses to decide if you meet the definition of a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection.