What happens at the eligibility interview when I first make a refugee claim in Canada?

The eligibility interview is a screening step, separate from the actual hearing on whether you qualify as a refugee, conducted by an officer to decide whether your claim can be referred to the Refugee Protection Division at all. The officer collects biographical and background information, asks about your travel and immigration history, and checks whether any of the specific bars to eligibility apply to your situation.

This is not the stage where anyone assesses whether your fear of returning home is genuine or well-founded — that comes later, at the actual refugee hearing, if your claim is found eligible. At this stage, the officer is only checking procedural and jurisdictional issues: things like whether you already have refugee status elsewhere, whether a prior claim was already decided, or whether an agreement like the Safe Third Country Agreement affects your case.

Because what you say at this interview becomes part of your record and can be compared against your Basis of Claim Form and later testimony, accuracy and consistency matter from this very first step. Bring identity documents if you have them, answer truthfully, and get legal advice as early in the process as possible, since decisions made here shape everything that follows.