the CanadaVisa Team - 18 July, 2015
Refugees arriving in Canada from Iraq since 2003 have found a relatively high rate of approval for their claims. The UN High Commission for Refugees has commended Canada’s response to the Iraqi refugee crisis.
Applications for refugee status in Canada are handled by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). On average approximately 45 percent of applicants from all over the world receive approval from the IRB. For 2006 figures show the acceptance rate for refugees from Iraq hovering around the 85 percent mark. For comparison’s sake, prior to the war in 2002 the acceptance rate for Iraqi refugees was 50 percent. Since 2003 Canada has also had a temporary suspension-of-removal order to Iraq, in consideration of the security situation in that country.
Citizenship and Immigration Canada depends on the services of independent agencies for referrals on refugee claims. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) is by far the largest of these organizations, and accounts for the majority of the referrals to Canada. The other path available to refugee applicants is private sponsorship by an individual, group or organization in Canada.
In November Canada received praise at a UNHCR meeting in Geneva. The thanks were specifically in response to Canadian efforts to resettle a group of Palestinian refugees stranded in a camp between Iraq and Jordan. According to Nanda Na Champassak, a senior official with UNHCR in Canada, the efforts made by Canada made it the only country in the world to accept this group of refugees.
