The [Immigration and Refugee Board] decides who is a
Convention refugee or a
person in need of protection.
Convention refugees are outside their home country or the country they normally live in. They are not able to return because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on:
- race
- religion
- political opinion
- nationality, or
- membership in a social group, such as women or people of a particular sexual orientation.
A
person in need of protection is a person in Canada who cannot return to their home country safely. This is because if they return, they would be subject to a:
- danger of torture
- risk to their life, or
- risk of cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.