To Deter Abuse, Canada’s Refugee System Has Changed
Canada’s new refugee system fast-tracks asylum claims from citizens of designated countries to ensure that failed asylum claimants from generally safe countries are removed from Canada much faster.
Hungary is one of the 27 designated countries.
A Designated Country of Origin (DCO) is one that respects human rights, offers state protection, and does not normally produce refugees.
Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) will hear asylum claims from DCO claimants within 30-45 days, depending on whether the claim is made at a port of entry or inland. All other claimants will have a hearing within 60 days. This means that asylum claimants will have their cases heard much faster – in a matter of weeks, not years.
All eligible asylum claimants from a DCO will continue to receive a full and fair oral hearing on the merits of their claim in front of an independent decision maker at the IRB.
However, if DCO claimants ask the Federal Court to review a negative decision, there will be no automatic stay of removal. This means that DCO claimants could be removed from Canada while their application for review before the Federal Court is pending.
Recent changes to Canadian law restrict DCO asylum claimants from Canada’s public healthcare system, except in cases of concern to public health.
The initial list of designations includes:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Slovak Republic
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
- United States of America
Additional countries will be designated following the implementation of the new system which came into force on December 15, 2012.
For information on how countries are designated, please visit the CIC website.
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