3. Check the other requirements

If you can show that you meet an exception to the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), you may enter Canada.

But you're not eligible to make a refugee claim if:

you have status in another country you can return to,
you entered Canada on a date after June 24, 2020, and more than one year has passed since that entry,
you previously made a refugee claim in Canada that was rejected, withdrawn, , or found ineligible,
you committed a serious crime or broke international human rights laws, or
you started a refugee claim in a country that has an information sharing agreement with Canada and Canada has confirmation from that country that you made a claim. These countries are the United States (U.S.), Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

If you made a refugee claim in Canada on or after June 3, 2025, or if you're planning to make one, a new law called Bill C-12 may affect you. Use this tool from the Migrant Rights Network to check if your claim could end. If your claim ends, you usually have the right to apply for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment. It's important to get legal help.

And you may not be eligible to make a refugee claim if you already have a .

For people who enter irregularly

If you enter Canada irregularly by crossing the Canada-U.S. land border between official ports of entry, and make your refugee claim:

more than 14 days after entering, you're not eligible to make a refugee claim. Your refugee claim will end. But you will not be removed to the U.S., and in most cases you can stay in Canada to apply for a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment.
14 days or less after entering, the STCA applies and you will be returned to the U.S. unless you meet an STCA exception.

If you're not eligible, your claim ends and you can never make another refugee claim in Canada. Get legal advice about what other options you may have. Learn more at Step 5.