Canada to expedite Egyptian refugees’ hearings by June 1

CAIRO – 13 May 2017: A policy announced by Canada’s Refugee Protection Division (RPD) early May is set to expedite processing of refugee claims from four countries, including Egypt and Yemen, starting June 1, announced the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRPA).

RPD’s expedited policy, which allows processing claims for certain refugees without a hearing, has been extended to apply to Afghanistan, Burundi, Egypt and Yemen.

“The purpose of the policy is to enable the RPD to meet its mandate of making refugee status determinations fairly and efficiently,” according to IRPA’s official website.

The designation of the above countries was initiated based on “high 2016 national acceptance rates, a sufficiently high volume of cases, and review of common claim types and issues relating to claims from these countries,” IRPA stated.

Canada’s Expedited Process Policy was first issued in 2015. Accordingly, “claims made by claimants who are nationals of certain countries may be determined to be a Convention refugee or a person in need of protection without a hearing.” Since then, claims from Syria, Iraq and Eritrea have been considered eligible for processing under the policy.

This move is thought to save time for asylum seekers to Canada, as it would make the process much faster.