November 20, 2012

Statistics from the IRB – Refugee Protection Division

There has been a noticeable drop in refugee protection claims this year. With 14,800 referrals in the first nine months of 2012, the RPD may end the year with less than 20,000 referrals. Only in its first year (1989), had the RPD received less than 20,000 referrals. In  2011, 24,400 refugee protection claims were referred to the RPD, which was 7% more than the previous year (22,300).

In the last quarter (July- September) China, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and North Korean were the main source countries of asylum seekers.  Also a significant number of referrals came from Caribbean countries, but with the new requirement of a visa imposed to the people from Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent we can expect decrease referrals from this region. The same requirement was applied to nationals of three African countries: Namibia, Botswana and Swaziland.

As of March 31, 2011 there were 48,300 claims waiting to be processed. By March 2012 the number was down to 39,400 and just recently the pending inventory is at 33,700.

The acceptance rate has slightly diminished in the last year. The previous two years the overall acceptance rate was at 37-38%. Since April 2012, the acceptance rate has been 33.4%.

Are you a Refugee or a Person in Need of Protection? Contact us Today!