Designated foreign national
Statutory definition
Section 20.1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, SC 2001, c 27, allows the Minister of Public Safety to designate the arrival of a group of persons as an irregular arrival if the Minister is of the opinion that examinations cannot be conducted in a timely manner or there are reasonable grounds to suspect criminal organisation or human smuggling involvement.
Explanation
Designated foreign nationals are subject to mandatory detention (for persons 16 and over) without automatic detention review for the first 14 days. They also have restricted appeal rights (no RAD appeal after a negative RPD decision) and are subject to a five-year bar on applying for permanent residence after a protection decision, and a 12-month wait before PRRA eligibility.
The designation power has rarely been used since its introduction in 2012 and has been the subject of constitutional challenges regarding arbitrary detention.
How this term is used
The designation applies to the group as a whole based on the circumstances of arrival, not on individual assessment. Individual members of a designated group are identified as designated foreign nationals by operation of the designation order. The vast majority of asylum seekers in Canada are not designated foreign nationals.