Would visiting the Indian consulate for a Power of Attorney hurt an asylum claim in Canada?

[Norijal]

A friend is an asylum seeker in Canada, originally from India. They're not planning to travel back and have no interest in renewing anything with the Indian government but they still have some assets there (a bank locker) that a sibling in India could manage for them if they had a Power of Attorney.

Getting a POA attested requires physically visiting the indian consulate in Canada, showing ID, and signing in front of an officer.

Given that reavailment (voluntarily seeking your home country's protection/services) can undermine an asylum claim or even trigger cessation of refugee status later ,does something as mundane as a POA for a bank locker carry real risk here? Or is that only a concern for things like passport renewals?

Has anyone been through this, or knows how IRB/CBSA tends to view it in practice? Would appreciate any real experience or informed opinions ,not trying to get formal legal advice here but wana have an idea.

 

[canuck78]

A friend is an asylum seeker in Canada, originally from India. They're not planning to travel back and have no interest in renewing anything with the Indian government but they still have some assets there (a bank locker) that a sibling in India could manage for them if they had a Power of Attorney.

Getting a POA attested requires physically visiting the indian consulate in Canada, showing ID, and signing in front of an officer.

Given that reavailment (voluntarily seeking your home country's protection/services) can undermine an asylum claim or even trigger cessation of refugee status later ,does something as mundane as a POA for a bank locker carry real risk here? Or is that only a concern for things like passport renewals?

Has anyone been through this, or knows how IRB/CBSA tends to view it in practice? Would appreciate any real experience or informed opinions ,not trying to get formal legal advice here but wana have an idea.

Is this an urgent situation? Getting asylum from India is incredibly difficult so may not actually be an issue.

 

[Buletruck]

A friend is an asylum seeker in Canada, originally from India. They're not planning to travel back and have no interest in renewing anything with the Indian government but they still have some assets there (a bank locker) that a sibling in India could manage for them if they had a Power of Attorney.

Getting a POA attested requires physically visiting the indian consulate in Canada, showing ID, and signing in front of an officer.

Given that reavailment (voluntarily seeking your home country's protection/services) can undermine an asylum claim or even trigger cessation of refugee status later ,does something as mundane as a POA for a bank locker carry real risk here? Or is that only a concern for things like passport renewals?

Has anyone been through this, or knows how IRB/CBSA tends to view it in practice? Would appreciate any real experience or informed opinions ,not trying to get formal legal advice here but wana have an idea.

I'd probably do it through a lawyer in his position. Directly interaction with the Indian government "could" be seen as problematic. Having a lawyer do it for him eliminates the direct interaction between the refugee claimant and the home government he's seeking protection from.