Notice – Changes to the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment for Venezuela

Ottawa, July 7, 2017—Individuals from Venezuela may be eligible for a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA) if they received a final decision from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) or a final PRRA decision on or between July 8, 2016 and July 7, 2017. Prior to removing them from Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency will advise individuals from Venezuela if they are now eligible to apply for a PRRA.

Normally, if you made a refugee claim or you previously applied for a PRRA, and your application was rejected, abandoned or withdrawn, you may not apply for a PRRA unless at least 12 months have passed.

However, individuals from Venezuela are exempted from the one-year bar on accessing a PRRA as conditions in that country have worsened. As a result, individuals could face a situation of risk that may warrant an additional assessment.

It is important to note that the ability to apply for PRRA does not guarantee the outcome of the risk assessment. Officers at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will continue to decide cases individually, based on the information provided.

Please note that individuals are responsible for keeping their PRRA application up-to-date. It is the applicant’s responsibility to inform IRCC of any changes to their application. This is required so that decision makers have all the information an individual wants considered for their application.

Individuals from Venezuela who receive a final IRB or PRRA decision after July 7, 2017, are not entitled to a PRRA for 12 months. Any recent changes in country conditions will have been considered when the refugee claim was decided or during the PRRA process.

In considering what countries to exempt, IRCC considers any event that has recently arisen in a country that could place all or some of its individuals in a situation of risk similar to those defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (sections 96, definition of a Convention Refugee, and 97, definition of a person in need of protection).