3. Get your documents
Question & Answer
I’ve been accepted as a protected person. How do I apply for status?In your application for permanent residence, you must include a copy of the decision that gave you refugee status or status.
You should also include copies of identity documents for you and any dependent family members who are applying for permanent residence as part of your application. You must have documents that were issued from your home country before you came to Canada.
One common identity document is your passport. If you don't have a passport or a copy of your passport, you should not apply for one from your home country. If you do, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) can make an application to cancel your protected person status. Instead, you can apply for a travel document for protected persons and send a copy to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Other identity documents include:
- birth certificate
- national identity card
- travel document
- marriage certificate
- any other official document with your name and date of birth, such as a driver's licence or school certificate
If you don't have any identity documents from your home country, you can still apply for permanent residence. IRCC will contact you to ask you more questions about your identity. You might need legal help to gather other to prove who you are.
Photos
You must provide 2 photos of yourself and 2 photos of each family member included in your application. You should give the Permanent Residents Photograph Specifications form to the photographer to make sure that your photos are the right size.
Police clearances
If you have received protected person status in Canada, you don't have to get police clearances from your home country where you are at risk. But you do have to get police clearance certificates for any other countries where you lived before coming to Canada.
Language
Your documents must be in either English or French. If your documents are in another language, they must be translated into English or French. You must also give a translator's declaration with the documents.
You can find a translator through the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario.