3. Gather evidence to support your refugee claim
When you respond to the Minister's Notice of Intent to Intervene, the type of you need depends on why the Minister is intervening.
Immigration history
If the Minister intervenes because of your immigration history, such as a misrepresentation, you need to give evidence that explains either:
- why the Minister's information is wrong, or
- if you did misrepresent yourself, why some information is not consistent.
Misrepresentation means giving untrue or incorrect information or leaving out information that was relevant to your refugee claim.
Delay in claiming protection
If the Minister intervenes because you waited more than 6 months before making a refugee claim, you need to:
- explain why you waited this long, and
- give any proof you have that shows why you waited.
Many nationalities
If you might have nationality in a second country, the Minister may intervene and argue that:
- you have citizenship in that country or could get it
- there's no risk of you being persecuted in that country
If the Minister intervenes for this reason, you need to give evidence that shows:
- you don't have more than one nationality because you cannot apply for or get that nationality, or
- you face a risk in all of the countries where you do have nationality.
Sometimes this means getting information about the laws of each country or expert evidence about the situation in each country.
It may also be a reason to exclude you from refugee protection if you have possible status in another country, for example:
- residency in another country, or
- status in more than one country.
If this applies to you, read more in I have a refugee hearing and there’s an exclusion issue. What does this mean?
Submit evidence to support your refugee claim
You must send your evidence and submissions to the Refugee Board and Minister's counsel. Check the address on the Notice of Intent to Intervene for the address of the Minister's counsel who's intervening in your case.
Generally, you have until 10 days before your Refugee Board hearing to submit documents that support your case. If the Minister sends evidence 10 days before your hearing, you have until 5 days before your hearing to respond to it.
Read more in How do I prepare for my refugee hearing?
