Canada’s Immigration Department is sending tens of thousands of refugee claimants letters that they may not be eligible for asylum — and is telling some of them that they should leave immediately.

The move comes after Ottawa passed a law last month that tightened how and when claimants can apply.

“These are not deportation letters,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) told CBC News in a statement confirming that the letters have started going out to some 30,000 applicants.

“Procedural fairness letters are routinely used across many programs to give applicants an opportunity to provide additional information before a decision is made.” 

IRCC’s statement to CBC News is the first time the scope of the legislation has been made public.

“I have determined that your claim for refugee protection may be ineligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada,” said a letter obtained by CBC News, sent to an applicant by an IRCC case processing officer.

That letter says the applicant entered Canada in 2024 and submitted their application more than a year later.

Bill C-12 retroactively bars those who came to Canada more than a year prior to filing claims with the IRB. It is retroactive to June 24, 2020, and applies to claims made on or after June 3, 2025. 

In the letter, the case officer writes the applicant can submit additional information or evidence regarding the circumstances of their entry over the next 21 days.

In its statement, IRCC says those details “may be relevant when assessing their eligibility” for IRB referral.

IRCC also highlighted how “individuals whose claims are not referred” would still be able to fill out a form known as a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA), which a case officer can then read to make a decision.

Lawyers wary of paper process replacing hearings

However, immigration lawyers who spoke to CBC News said forms do not allow applicants the same latitude as in-person hearings. 

“It’s very different to state your case and explain the risk that you face, and your personal circumstances on paper, as opposed to in front of a decision-maker,” said Adam Sadinsky, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.

He said opportunities to explain what might look like a discrepancy in testimony are removed when hearings are no longer part of the equation, “which is going to lead to decisions that are incorrect.” 

“There is no member [of the IRB] to listen to you, that they can feel you, they can see you, they can see your fear,” said Lida Berenjian, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer.

Berenjian said there are three major problems with the legislation for her. 

She said she is seeing examples of applicants who had first arrived to Canada before the retroactive date receiving the letters because they had left the country and then re-entered after June 2020.

She said she is also seeing examples of families separated by the legislation, with some family members receiving the letters while others are not.

And she expressed concern over potential fraud, with some immigration lawyers or consultants charging money to fill out PRRA forms, even in cases where clients may not have access to that process.

“Every single day, I’m receiving 200, 300, 400 ‘please help’ calls,” she said. 

Some letters say to leave immediately

A second kind of form letter seen by CBC News is telling applicants “your claim for refugee protection is not eligible to be referred to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.”

That letter refers to a section of immigration law amended by C-12 which targets claimants who entered Canada from points along the U.S. land border not deemed a regular port of entry, and took more than 14 days to make an asylum claim. 

“You must leave Canada as soon as possible and confirm your departure with the Canada Border Services Agency,” the letter warns. “If you do not leave Canada, a deportation order may be issued against you.”

The letter says the applicant “may be eligible to apply for a PRRA.” 

Sadinsky said individuals have a constitutional right to a PRRA before they depart Canada.

“[The letter] would be misleading to a large number of claimants who may see that and take steps to leave immediately, whereas in fact they do have the constitutional right to an assessment of their risk,” he said.

He also raised concern with how PRRAs may be unavailable to applicants from one of the 22 countries Ottawa currently does not deport anyone to for safety reasons.

Applicants deemed ineligible for an asylum claim would not be sent to anywhere on that list, but also would not have access to a PRRA, Sadinsky said, leaving them stuck in limbo in some cases, unable to reunite with families or even unable to apply to some benefits, depending on which province or territory they live in.