Over the past year the Canadian Government has quietly stepped up efforts to strip permanent resident status from former refugees who returned to their homeland.
Changes to immigration law in 2012 gave the government new powers known as “cessation application.” Under the law the government is authorized to deport former refugees whose circumstances have changed. In 2014, 116 former refugees had their protection “ceased.”
The law does not set out how often and long a refugee might visit and stay in their homeland to have their status ceased. However, the government claims that individuals who obtain a national passport from their homeland where they once faced persecution could lose their status.
Critics argue the government’s actions have created fear and anxiety among former refugees who often return to their homeland after conditions have improved to visit ailing relatives.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has stated that cessation cases have been identified as a key priority in order to improve the integrity of the refugee system.
In a recent case, Toronto resident Milan Kumar Karki was notified that a “cessation of refugee protection” application was launched against him. Karki fled Nepal in 2002 claiming he had been persecuted by the government. He obtained Canadian permanent residency in 2003 and has had a citizenship application in the works since 2010. But as conditions improved in Nepal he also got a new Nepalese passport, returned for to Nepal for numerous extended stays, and got married there. He now fears deportation.
Former refugees facing cessation actions are heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and can appeal the decision at the federal court. However, failed appellants are prohibited from applying to stay on humanitarian grounds within a year and must leave the country.
