What is the difference between a refugee and a refugee claimant?
In common usage, refugee takes the place of a variety of other words including refugee claimant, non-status individual, and refugee. A refugee claimant is a person who has not yet received legal status from the government. They are in the process making a refugee claim and are working through the refugee determination process. A refugee is a person who has been granted status as a refugee through the refugee determination process. They have been granted paperwork to work and live in Canada permanently on the basis of their refugee claim. A non-status individual is a person whose refugee claim has been denied but who has not yet been deported.
