Going to apply for an asylum claim in Ontario

[Steve_]

Hello Everyone,

I arrived in Canada on a visitor visa. However, I do not want to go back to my country because my daughter is gay. In my home country, it is still illegal to be gay and I and my wife are facing harassment and intimidation from relatives and fundamentalists because our daughter is openly gay and we are supportive of her. My daughter stays in Canada. As a result, I want to claim asylum in Canada. Can someone help me answer the following questions I have:

1. How much do lawyers usually charge for processing asylum claims? Does anyone have recommendations for good lawyers who have dealt with asylum claims?
2. How long does it take for Basis of Claim (BOC) to be deemed eligible after submitting it?
3. How long does it take to get the work permit and health coverage after BOC is found to be eligible and forwarded to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB)?
4. Is there any social assistance that we can get from the provincial or federal government before we find jobs?
5. Anything else I should keep in mind before I apply for asylum?

 

[davenportdiamond]

2. Your claim can be deemed eligible before having submitted a BoC. If you claim at a port of entry and not inland once you have already entered Canada, you will likely, but not necessarily, have your claim deemed eligible right away.
3. Your federal health coverage starts immediately once your claim has been found eligible. You will get your work permit about a month after completing your medical examination.
5. To successfully get refugee protection, you will need to demonstrate that you, personally, are at risk of persecution. The two categories that will be relevant to you are personal belief (i.e. you'll be persecuted because you are supportive of gay people) and membership in a particular social group (parents of gay children). You will have to demonstrate that the level of harassment and intimidation you're facing rises to the level of persecution. Generally, discrimination alone is not sufficient grounds for refugee protection (unless it is so common that, when taken cumulatively, can be considered persecution); you will need to show that there's a serious possibility you'll be harmed (are you being threatened, and if so, are those threats credible in that the people threatening you will follow through) and that your country of citizenship won't protect you (or is complicit).

 

[Steve_]

Hi Davenportdiamond,

Thank you for your quick and detailed response. I appreciated you breaking down the things that we should keep in mind in point#5.

We don't have a lot of documented evidence with us and that's what we are concerned about.

I have a follow-up question for point#1: You are saying that most BOCs are deemed eligible by IRCC and sent to IRB? I am asking because for now we would like to submit the BOC without having the documented evidence in hand, but we can write down the details of our situation in the BOC form and submit it. What are the chances or under what issues are claims found to be ineligible?

Thanks again!