Refugee Claimant - Eligible for CCB?

[ForumUser]

I was approached by a refugee claimant who is in Canada since 2011.

She is still waiting for her hearing and she has currently a work permit (in addition to her CIC Refugee Claimant document).

She told me that she needs assistance to apply for child benefits. Now the problem is, I cannot find any information if she is eligible (as a refugee claimant) to apply for Child Benefits. Calling CRA is not helping either because the CRA agents I talked to didn’t know anything.

I understand that protected persons (refugees) are eligible to apply for child benefits, and I know that my client is not a refugee yet.

However, I was wondering if she could be considered a temporary resident while waiting for her hearing.

On the other hand, on her work permit it says “does not confer temporary resident status”. But she still has her refugee protection claimant document.

So I was wondering if you have any experience. It would be really great!

[SettlementOrgMod]

Hello,

Thank you for sharing this situation and question with us.

We can appreciate that you would be interested in this type of information.

Unfortunately, as stated on the CRA website in the Are you Eligible? section,

To get the CCB, you must meet all of the following conditions:

-You must live with the child, and the child must be under 18 years of age.
-You must be the person primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of the child.

Note:
If a child does not live with you all the time, see Do you share custody of a child?.

You must be a resident of Canada for tax purposes. We consider you to be a resident of Canada when you establish sufficient residential ties in Canada. For more information, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual’s Residence Status.

You or your spouse or common-law partner must be:

-a Canadian citizen;
-a permanent resident (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act);
-a protected person (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act); or
-a temporary resident (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 months, and who has a valid permit in the 19th month other than one that states “does not confer status” or “does not confer temporary resident status.” If this is your situation, do not apply before the 19th month.

Unfortunately, Refugee claimants and refused refugees are not eligible for family benefits.

As stated on the CRA website, the valid permit must not state “does not confer temporary resident status” on it.

As stated above, they must be “a temporary resident (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act)”. The work permit issued in conjunction with a claim does not confer official residency status.

Here is an excerpt from the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website,

Refugee claimants with valid temporary resident status

A person with valid temporary resident status may make a refugee claim and keep their visitor record, work permit or study permit. Work and study permits remain valid until they expire or until a removal order made against the permit holder comes into force.

Temporary residents may, like other refugee claimants, be considered inadmissible for seeking to remain in Canada permanently while not in possession of a permanent resident visa, [A41(a) plus A20(1)(a)].

We suggest that you may want to contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) directly again to see if you can speak to another representative for some more information related specifically to this situation at 1-800-387-1193.

I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.

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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org