IRCC or CBSA found your refugee claim ineligible under Bill C-12? Why your Federal Court case is on hold, and the October dates

For refugee claimants in Canada found ineligible under the one-year or 14-day rule. As of October 2026.

Whether a refugee claim can go to the Immigration and Refugee Board is decided first by an officer: IRCC for claims made inside Canada, the CBSA for claims made at the border. IRCC says it sends a refusal letter when a claim is not eligible. If your claim was found ineligible and you, or someone helping you, went to the Federal Court, nothing may seem to move. There is a reason, and it is not about your file alone.

The problem: two new bars, and many court challenges

Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, received royal assent on March 26, 2026. IRCC says two eligibility rules apply to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025:

• The one-year rule: a claim made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020 is not referred to the Board, even if the person left Canada and came back.
• The 14-day rule: a person who enters between ports of entry along the Canada-US land border and claims after 14 days is not referred to the Board.

In the law, these are paragraphs 101(1)(b.1) and 101(1)(b.2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Subsection 101(1.1) says the one year starts the day after the first entry.

Why Federal Court cases are on hold

• August 20, 2026: the Chief Justice of the Federal Court placed all current and future applications challenging these rules (the Court calls them “C-12 applications”) in abeyance. Their timelines are suspended until further order.
• August 28, 2026: the case management judge named five lead cases and ordered that all other applications stay on hold until a set of representative cases decides the common legal issues.
• October 1, 2026: counsel for the lead cases proposed five common legal issues, including Charter challenges to the one-year and 14-day rules, and ten representative cases from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg.

The October dates

• October 15, 2026: deadline for other C-12 applicants to file an alternative proposal of no more than two pages.
• October 30, 2026: deadline for responses to those proposals.
• Next, the Court says it will post the proposals, name the final representative cases and common issues, and set a schedule. No hearing dates are listed yet.

What you can do

1. Read your letter. Check which rule it cites: the one-year rule or the 14-day rule.
2. If you have a Federal Court application, ask your lawyer or a legal clinic how the hold affects your file and whether anything needs to be filed.
3. Ask about a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA). IRCC says people affected by these rules still have access to a PRRA.
4. Check the work permit policy. An IRCC public policy may allow an open work permit for some people whose claims were found ineligible, including under these two rules. Read its conditions.
5. Watch the Court’s C-12 page for the order that names the final representative cases.

The point to remember

The pause is court-wide. It is not a decision on your file. A small number of representative cases may shape the outcome for many people.

Check the official pages before you act:

• Federal Court, Constitutional challenges to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (C-12 applications)
• IRCC, New immigration and asylum measures from Bill C-12 have become law
• IRCC, Claiming asylum from within Canada: after you submit your claim
• IRCC, Claiming asylum at the border: eligibility
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, section 101
• IRCC, Open work permits for people whose claims are ineligible to be referred to the IRB

Join the conversation

Has your claim been found ineligible, or are you helping someone through this? Share your questions in the comments. Please do not post personal details, court file numbers or documents.

This article is general information on Canadian law, as of October 2026. It is not legal advice and does not create a representative relationship. Always consult a licensed legal professional for your specific situation.