Border Crossing Myths
Can you bust these myths? Take our Border Crossing quiz!
Photo: © UNHCR/Vincent Tremeau
According to UNHCR’s latest Global Trends Report there were 4.2 million asylum seekers in 2019. Here in Canada, only a small percentage of individuals have claimed asylum in the country in recent years.
Who are they? Where do they come from? Why have they left their countries of origin? Are they “illegals?” Are they “jumping the queue?”
Test your knowledge. Get the facts. Take our border crossing quiz.
Border Crossing Quick Facts
- Most refugee claimants enter Canada through official entry
- In the first seven months of 2019, 3 out of 4 of refugee claimants in Canada made their refugee claim at the airport, at an official border post or at an inland immigration office.
- Crossing the border at an unofficial entry point to claim asylum is not a punishable offence
- Most refugee claimants crossing the border at an unofficial entry point are fleeing violence and persecution
- To enter Canada without prior authorization for the purpose of seeking asylum is accepted under international and Canadian law.
- More than half of the refugee claimants who crossed the Canadian border irregularly and had their case finalized by the Immigration and Refugee Board between Feb. 2017 – June 2019, were recognized as refugees.
- Refugee claimants who cross the Canadian border at an unofficial entry point are not taking the space of others.
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