Canada tightens asylum rules

Canada’s new asylum law is already blocking some refugee claims from reaching a full hearing, weeks after Bill C-12 took effect on March 26. (canada.ca) The law creates two new bars to eligibility for claims made on or after June 3, 2025. People who first entered Canada after June 24, 2020 and waited more than one year to claim asylum can now be ruled ineligible, and people who crossed the United States land border between ports of entry and waited more than 14 days can be blocked too. (canada.ca) Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada told CBC it has started sending procedural fairness letters to about 30,000 applicants. Some letters say claimants may be ineligible for referral to the Refugee Protection Division of the Immigration and Refugee Board and give them 21 days to respond. (cbc.ca, ici.radio-canada.ca) For affected claimants, the change is not just procedural. If a claim is not referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board, the person loses the usual oral refugee hearing and is directed instead to a pre-removal risk assessment, a paper-based review done before deportation. (canada.ca, cbc.ca) The federal government says the new rules are meant to reduce pressure on the asylum system, close loopholes and deter people from using refugee claims as a substitute for regular immigration pathways. In its March 2026 backgrounder, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the measures are intended to protect the system from sudden surges in claims. (canada.ca) The restrictions did not start with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government. CBC reported that then-immigration minister Marc Miller asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in fall 2024 for the same one-year and 14-day limits that later appeared in Bill C-12. (cbc.ca) Bill C-12 was introduced in the House of Commons on October 8, 2025, passed the Senate on March 12, 2026, and received royal assent on March 26, 2026. The bill also expanded domestic information-sharing and gave the government broader powers over immigration documents and applications. (parl.ca, canada.ca) Refugee lawyers say the shift replaces a live hearing with paperwork at the stage where people explain risk. Adam Sadinsky of the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers told CBC that written forms do not give applicants the same chance to address discrepancies or explain personal circumstances in front of a decision-maker. (ici.radio-canada.ca) Rights groups have been attacking the law since it was introduced. Amnesty International Canada and the Canadian Council for Refugees were part of a coalition that said after royal assent that Bill C-12 undermines refugee protections and migrant rights. (amnesty.ca, ccrweb.ca) Ottawa says people screened out by the new rules can still seek protection through a pre-removal risk assessment, and that process can still result in refugee protection. The immediate fight is over who gets a hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board, and the first wave of letters shows that question is no longer hypothetical. (canada.ca, ici.radio-canada.ca)