How long does it take to get a decision on a refugee protection claim?
• On average, it takes the Refugee Protection Division (RPD) about one year to decide a claim. This is only an average and while some cases are decided within six months, more complex cases can take longer than one year. Many factors can influence the time required to deal with a claim, for example: type of case, complexity, time required for research and preparation, and availability of decision-maker, counsel, and interpreter, etc. • The RPD measures its processing times for refugee claims by counting from the date when the claim is received from Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) or the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), to when the decision is actually mailed to the claimant (a written notice of decision is always mailed to the claimant, even when a decision is given at the hearing).
