Refugees to Canada - a new way to go in 2021
Canada has recently launched a new program for refugees. Let's find out who it is suitable for.
I often talk about how many immigration programs there are in Canada. But there are almost no options for refugees, and under the programs that do exist, few people can get asylum — according to statistics, 70% of refugee applications are rejected by Canada.
A new path to Canada
A new immigration stream was recently launched that in theory could benefit people from the CIS countries. If you are an oppositionist, a journalist, or if you are an advocate for women's rights, LGBT rights, or the general population, this program would work for you.
According to the Department of Immigration, Canada is one of the first countries to allow human rights defenders to obtain asylum, because usually refugees are those who are displaced because of hostilities, but human rights defenders are also often at risk. I don't think we need to give examples.
Who's going?
The official Canadian government website says that human rights defenders are people who promote the defence of human rights and protect those who suffer at the hands of government or government officials. If you make videos and post them on YouTube or run some kind of human rights Telegram channel, or maybe you volunteer and fight for the rights of the downtrodden, then you should fit this definition.
Human rights defenders who are harassed, arrested, threatened, and not just by government services, can turn in refugees. Canada will particularly focus on three categories:
- journalists;
- women;
- LGBT rights activists.
Starting this year, the country will accept 250 human rights refugees and their family members every year. This is part of the immigration plan that is valid until 2022, maybe something will change afterwards.
How do I get asylum?
The stream for human rights defenders is launched under the State Refugee Assistance Programme. Its peculiarity is that a person cannot apply for asylum on his/her own. Refugees are defined by the UN Refugee Agency or other similar organizations. That is, a person must first register there, wait for the commission to review his/her case, and only then can he/she be sent to Canada.
But if the commission decides you are a genuine refugee and you become a refugee in Canada, you will receive help from the government and private sponsors either for a year or until you are able to support yourself. And of course, you will get permanent residency.
Immigration is better than refugee
It is very important to understand that asylum is not a simplified way of immigration as many people think. I strongly advise against applying for asylum for made-up reasons. You don't need to make up how you are being persecuted because you went to a rally, or that you are being threatened because you are fighting for LGBT rights. You may be able to become a refugee, but if the deception is later revealed, you may simply be deported from Canada.
In the US this year there was just such a story. They arrested a blogger there who was helping people get asylum for no real reason. His clients were waiting to be deported, but I don't know how it ended.
In my Telegram feed I left a link to the advocate program. If you think you qualify, you can see for yourself what you need to do. But I highly recommend using the regular immigration program, there are officially more than 120 of them — there should be a way for you too.
We have digitized all immigration programs in one place, take free chances assessment and if you need help, sign up for a consultation. We have two licensed immigration consultants to help you move to Canada.
Alex Pavlenko, Founder of Immigrant.Today
