Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA): What It Is and Who Is Eligible

A PRRA is a formal process that allows individuals facing removal from Canada to request an assessment of the risks they would face if returned to their country of origin. This resource explains eligibility, the legal standard, waiting periods, and country-specific exemptions from the waiting period — including those that have now closed.

This resource explains the Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) — a formal mechanism under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that provides a final opportunity for individuals facing removal to demonstrate that they would face persecution, torture, or cruel and unusual treatment if returned to their home country. It covers eligibility, the legal standard, the waiting period before an application can be made, and country-specific exemptions from the waiting period — including the DRC and Venezuelan exemption windows, which have now closed.

For individuals who have exhausted other immigration remedies and are facing removal from Canada, the PRRA represents one of the last available legal protections. Unlike a refugee claim — which is adjudicated by the IRB — PRRA applications are assessed by IRCC officers applying the same legal standard (sections 96 and 97 of IRPA). A PRRA is not a second refugee hearing: it requires new evidence of risk. Understanding what qualifies as new evidence — and how the legal standard is applied — is critical to building an effective application.