3. Submit your application on time
You have 15 days to fill out and submit your (PRRA) to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The application can be submitted by mail, fax, or email. If you meet this deadline, and it is your first PRRA application, your will be temporarily stayed. This means that you can’t be removed from Canada until your PRRA is decided.
But if you’re making a second PRRA application, or if you apply for a PRRA at a Port of Entry (POE), your removal order will not be stayed or put on hold until your PRRA is decided.
Applying for a PRRA after the 15-day deadline
If you don’t submit the PRRA on time, you can still apply after the deadline. But the CBSA can make arrangements to remove you from Canada before a decision is made on your PRRA.
If the CBSA tries to remove you before a decision is made, you will have to make a “Request to Defer Removal” to delay your removal. You will probably also need to apply to the Federal Court for a stay of removal. You should talk to a lawyer for help with your Request to Defer Removal and with any application at the Federal Court.
Exceptions to the 15-day rule
You will have to submit the PRRA and any supporting and submissions right away if:
- you try to make a refugee claim at a Port of Entry (POE) and the officer decides you’re not eligible to make a refugee claim, but you are eligible for a PRRA, or
- you have made a PRRA in the past that was rejected and you are now applying for a second PRRA.
