Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA)

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) is an essential tool in the used to determine risks that an individual might be exposed to on their deportation or removal from Canada. This can be done by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB) or any other competent immigration authorities to find out whether there are grounds that suggest that the subject’s life is in danger, that their health or human rights will be at risk once the subject has been repatriated to the country of origin or any other country to which s/he may be removed.

The PRRA is normally accessible to a person who has been rejected a refugee status or has been requested to leave Canada but intends to avoid removal because of likely dangers in his/her home country.

Key Features of PRRA:

Human Rights & Safety Risk Assessment
The basic role of the PRRA is to assess whether the person could be in danger, persecuted, tortured or killed if he or she goes back to home country. This includes threat to life, torture this feature looks at the risk of being exposed to cruel or inhuman punishment.

Medical and Psychological Effects
The PRRA also looks at any medical condition which the person might be exposed to; which entails lack of health care and or serious physical or psychological harm that may come from the country of origin.

Key Risk Factors Considered

• Political instabilities or wars exist at the home country
• Religious or social groups, or ethnic personnel
• Systems of patriarchy, heteronormativity or homophobia (e.g., for gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, trans, intersex and other gender non-conforming people or women)
• Other potentials hazards: absence of a health insurance; contracting diseases of examining countries when one arrives in his/her native country
• lnformation about past persecution or well-founded fear for his/her life.

Comprehensive Review
PRRA is conducted upon a consideration of all material facts, circumstances and evidence regarding the applicant and his/her country conditions and his/her own history and the applicant’s testimony. This comprehensive review assists to guarantee that none of the individuals, clients are returned to their risky environment without adequate consideration of the risk factors present in the environment.

Resulting Decision
By the provisions of PRRA, the immigration authorities will either permit the person to stay in Canada if they consider the risk of harm to be severe Or continue with the removal order. If the individual applies for the PRRA and if his application is declined then may be the individual has other ways of appeal or may seek for judicial redress.

Temporary Stay of Removal
In some circumstances, the PRRA, may provide a stay of removal while the matter is being considered which is an opportunity to seek other remedies.