Refugee claimants who have started—but not yet submitted—their applications in IRCC’s online portal have just weeks to finish the job. In guidance published on 3 October, the department confirmed that a redesigned intake system will go live on 3 November 2026, shutting down the current form at 23:59 ET on 2 November. Any draft application left unfiled will have to be re-verified and supplemented under the new questionnaire. The platform switch is part of the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12), which received Royal Assent in March. Alongside tougher eligibility rules, C-12 mandates a ‘modernised asylum process’—code for a digital triage that demands more up-front information so that files reaching the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) are hearing-ready. For claimants who began the process through the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and were told to complete it online, linking the CBSA reference number to the portal before the cut-off is essential; otherwise, their partially completed data will be lost. Paper options remain for applicants with accessibility barriers, but they must request the forms before the switchover. Legal clinics warn that revisiting answers in a new form is not a clerical step: additional eligibility questions could compromise credibility if rushed. Employers with humanitarian transfer cases and universities supporting at-risk scholars should audit any in-flight refugee claims now, ensuring lawyers finalise submissions ahead of the deadline. IRCC’s stated aim is faster, more predictable processing. Whether the transition achieves that will hinge on how many cases miss the cut-off and how user-friendly the new questionnaire proves to be after 3 November.
Source: IRCC.com
