Canada asylum rules to change from November: What unfinished IRCC Portal claims must do

Canada will change the way asylum seekers submit refugee claims online from November 3, 2026, as part of a wider overhaul of the country's asylum system. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has shared that the changes will apply to refugee claims submitted through the IRCC Portal. The transition is particularly important for people who have already started an application but have not yet submitted it.

Applicants with unfinished claims should first log in to the IRCC Portal and review all information already entered. They should check personal details, family information and other answers for accuracy, complete unanswered sections and upload the required documents before submitting the claim.

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IRCC informed that the information already entered in an unfinished claim will remain saved after the system changes. However, applicants who do not submit their claim before the deadline will have to review their previous answers and respond to new or previously unanswered questions after November 3.

The change is part of Canada's wider effort to modernise the asylum application process. The updated system is intended to reduce repeated questions and collect more complete information before eligible claims are referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), which makes decisions on refugee protection.

There are separate requirements for people whose asylum claims were started with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). If a CBSA-started claim has been linked to the IRCC Portal by November 2 but remains unsubmitted, the information will remain saved. The claimant will still have to review the information and answer the new questions after the transition.

However, if a person was instructed by CBSA to complete the claim online but has not linked the claim to the IRCC Portal by the deadline, information previously collected by CBSA will not be saved in the Portal. The claimant will need to link the claim and re-enter personal and family information.

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Applicants facing technical problems with the Portal should contact IRCC through its web form. They should provide details such as the error encountered, the device and browser used, the date and time of the problem and relevant screenshots.

The November 2 deadline changes how unfinished applications are handled. It does not remove the ability to make an asylum claim in Canada.