Canada Revokes Residency of Refugees Who Travel Back to Their Home Countries

Canadian media reports that the government is accelerating its efforts to revoke the residency of individuals who have sought asylum in Canada but later traveled back to the countries they fled from. In this context, the Toronto Star has reported that changes to immigration laws in 2012 have granted the government new powers to actively review and reopen cases where circumstances have changed since permanent residency was granted. According to this report, the Ottawa government can compel individuals who are no longer under threat in their home countries to leave Canada. The Iranian news agency Iranshahr, which covers news related to Canada and Iranians residing there, has also noted that this action could affect many Iranians in Canada. The new law allows the Ottawa government to revoke the residency of refugees who 'benefit again from their homeland.' According to the Geneva Convention, adopted on July 28, 1951, anyone facing threats of torture, imprisonment, or death due to religious, ideological, political, or racial reasons in their home country can seek asylum in safe and free countries. However, the Canadian government believes that individuals who have claimed asylum on these grounds but later return to the country they claimed was unsafe are lying, and their residency will be revoked. The Toronto Star reports that since the changes in immigration laws in 2012, the Canadian government has actively reviewed the cases of refugees whose circumstances have changed and who have been able to leave Canada and travel back to their home countries. The report adds that the number of individuals whose residency was revoked by the Canadian government in 2014 was nearly five times the number in 2012. Meanwhile, a government document provided to the Canadian Refugee Council indicates that the Canadian government has set an annual quota of 875 refugees for residency revocation. Iranshahr's report indicates that the publication of this news has caused concern among the Iranian community in Canada. The site notes that the travel of a 'significant group' of Iranians to Iran after seeking asylum and a larger group utilizing government and consular services based on their Iranian identity raises the suspicion that these Iranian nationals may be subject to the aforementioned law and their cases may be called for residency revocation by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada.