Refugees Claimants or asylum seekers are, by definition, people who have a well-founded fear of being persecuted. It is often impossible or too dangerous for them to obtain passports or proper travel visas to leave their countries of origin. Often they must cross borders without any documents. The United Nations Refugee Convention, to which Canada is a signatory, allows refugee claimants to use false documents or no documents to escape persecution. In Canada, refugees cannot be prosecuted for using false travel documents or arriving without any documents.

Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers