Canadian Immigration Xperts

Minister Kenney announces removal of exception relating to Safe Third Country Agreement

A change related to the Canada–U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement was announced today by Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney. The change removes one of Canada’s exceptions to the Agreement and is another step toward improving Canada’s asylum system.

The Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement was signed on December 5, 2002, and implemented on December 29, 2004. Under the Agreement, refugee claimants arriving in North America must make a claim in the first safe country they reach – either Canada or the United States.

One of Canada’s exceptions to this agreement allowed individuals from countries under a temporary suspension of removals (TSR) coming through the Canada-U.S. land border to make a refugee claim in Canada, even though they already had the opportunity to make one in the United States. Effective today, this exception has been removed.

Unless they qualify for another exception under the Safe Third Country Agreement, nationals from TSR countries (Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq and Zimbabwe) arriving at a Canada-U.S.. land border will be ineligible to make a refugee claim in Canada and will be turned back to the United States. Nationals from these countries already in Canada or arriving at a port of entry that is not a land border with the U.S will not be affected by this measure and will continue to have access to Canada’s asylum system.

Under the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement, individuals turned back at the Canada-U.S border will have access to the U.S. refugee protection system.