What happens if I miss my refugee hearing, is my claim automatically abandoned?

Missing a hearing does not automatically mean your claim is abandoned the moment you fail to appear, but it puts you at real risk of an abandonment finding, which the Refugee Protection Division makes after considering the circumstances rather than as an automatic penalty for the missed date itself. Typically, you are given an opportunity to explain the absence at a show cause hearing before any final abandonment decision is made.

A genuine, well-documented reason — a medical emergency, a serious miscommunication about the date, or a similarly credible explanation — can prevent an abandonment finding, especially if you acted promptly to notify the Board and reschedule once you realized what happened. Simply not showing up with no explanation, or providing an explanation that doesn't hold up, is far more likely to result in the claim being declared abandoned.

Because an abandoned claim can be very difficult to revive and generally forecloses the normal refugee process, anyone who realizes they will miss, or has already missed, a scheduled hearing should contact the Board and get legal advice immediately, rather than waiting to see what happens next.