A Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is an application available to many people who are facing removal from Canada. It asks one central question: would this person face persecution, torture, a risk to their life, or cruel and unusual treatment if returned to their home country?
Who can apply
Most people receive a PRRA offer from the Canada Border Services Agency before removal. Since Bill C-12, people whose refugee claims are found ineligible under the new one-year or 14-day rules can also apply for a PRRA — which makes it the main risk review for a growing group of claimants. Timing rules matter: many applicants who had a refugee claim decided recently are subject to a waiting period before they can apply, and deadlines after receiving the offer are short and strictly enforced.
New evidence is the key
For former refugee claimants, a PRRA is not a second refugee hearing. Officers generally only consider evidence that arose after the refugee decision, or that was not reasonably available before it. This is where many self-prepared applications fail — they repeat the original story instead of documenting what is new: changed country conditions, new threats, new personal circumstances, or newly available proof.
What strong submissions look like
A persuasive PRRA connects your personal evidence to current, credible country-condition documentation, and explains clearly why the risk is personal to you — not just general conditions everyone in the country faces. Organization matters: officers decide most PRRAs on paper, so the written submission is your hearing.
PRRA is not the only option
A PRRA addresses risk on return. It does not weigh your ties to Canada, your children, or the hardship of leaving a life you have built here — those belong in a Humanitarian & Compassionate application, which some people pursue alongside or instead of a PRRA. Which combination makes sense depends entirely on your history and timing.
PRRA timelines are unforgiving and the stakes are high. If you have received a PRRA offer or believe removal is coming, get advice immediately — contact us and bring every document you have.
Written by Meena Sharma, RCIC-IRB
Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant licensed by the CICC and authorized to represent clients before the Immigration and Refugee Board. This article is general information, not legal advice.