Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA)
A pre-removal risk assessment is the last review of the risks you would face if you are removed from Canada. It looks at risks of persecution, torture, a risk to life or a risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.
What a PRRA is
Under IRPA ss. 112 to 116, a person who is subject to an enforceable removal order may apply for a risk assessment before removal. An officer assesses the risks under ss. 96 and 97 of the Act. If the application is allowed, you become a protected person and can apply for permanent residence. If it is refused, removal can proceed, subject to any stay and to review by the Federal Court.
Who can apply, and who cannot
- You generally receive a notice that you may apply once removal is being arranged. The notice sets a short deadline to apply.
- There are bars: for example, if your refugee claim was rejected, withdrawn or abandoned within the last 12 months (longer for some designated countries), you may not be eligible yet (s. 112(2)).
- If you are inadmissible on certain grounds, including serious criminality, security or organized crime, a more limited form of assessment applies (s. 113(d)) and the question focuses on risk to life and risk of cruel treatment.
- Whether a stay of removal applies while the application is pending depends on whether a bar applies.
What evidence matters
A PRRA is mostly decided on paper, usually without a hearing. For that reason the written application is everything. Under s. 113(a), only new evidence that arose after the refugee claim was rejected, or that was not reasonably available or could not reasonably have been expected to be presented, is generally accepted.
- Current country conditions evidence from reliable sources that applies to your profile.
- Evidence of what has happened since your last decision: events, threats, changes in the country, your activities abroad.
- Expert, medical and psychological reports where relevant.
- Your own sworn statement, written to explain the new risk precisely and consistently with your earlier accounts.
How we prepare a PRRA
- Check eligibility, bars, deadlines and whether a stay of removal applies.
- Identify what is new and organize the evidence under the correct legal test.
- Draft comprehensive written submissions and, where possible, request an oral hearing if credibility is in issue.
- If the application is refused, assess a Federal Court judicial review and a motion to stay removal.
Frequently asked questions
Is a PRRA the same as a refugee claim?
No. It applies at the end of the removal process and relies on the same protection grounds, but it is a written assessment of new risk after an earlier decision, not a first claim.
Will I stay in Canada while the PRRA is decided?
In many cases a stay of removal applies while a PRRA is pending, but not in all. It depends on whether a bar applies to you.
What if my PRRA is refused?
Removal can proceed unless you obtain a stay. The refusal can be challenged in the Federal Court, and a stay motion is often necessary. Act immediately.
Can a PRRA lead to permanent residence?
A positive decision makes you a protected person, and you can then apply for permanent residence.
Related: Immigration Division · Immigration Appeal Division · Refugee claims · Federal Court judicial review
Important: this page is general legal information, not legal advice, and reading it or contacting us does not create a lawyer-client relationship. Deadlines, eligibility and outcomes depend on your decision and facts, the law changes, and no result can be guaranteed. Past results do not predict future outcomes. Please do not send confidential details until we have confirmed that we can act for you. Pax Law Corporation is regulated by the Law Society of British Columbia and the Law Society of Ontario. We do not state processing times for any application; check IRCC for current information.
Received a PRRA notice or a removal date?
Send us the notice today. The deadlines are short and the written application is what decides the outcome.
