Is the US-Canada border now closed to refugee claimants?
No, the border is not closed to all refugee claimants. If you meet one of the exceptions to the safe third country rule, you will be able to present your refugee claim in Canada. What are the exceptions to the safe third country rule?: You can still make a refugee claim in Canada at a land border point: 1) If you have in Canada, a: • spouse or common-law partner* • legal guardian • child • father or mother • brother or sister • grandfather or grandmother • grandchild • uncle or aunt • nephew or niece *AND* that family member is a: • Canadian citizen • permanent resident • protected person (i.e. determined to be a refugee or a person in need of protection) • Accepted in principle on humanitarian and compassionate grounds (removal order stayed under Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations 233) • 18 years of age or over and is a refugee claimant (and the claim has not been rejected, withdrawn, found abandoned or ineligible) • 18 years of age or over and is in Canada on a work permi
