Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA)
Statutory definition
Section 112 of the IRPA provides that a person subject to a removal order may apply for a PRRA. Sections 113 and 114 set out the scope of the assessment: only new evidence arising after the previous RPD/RAD/Federal Court determination may be considered, and the PRRA officer cannot question a prior factual finding. Persons who have had a previous PRRA must wait 12 months before reapplying (IRPA s 112(2)(b)).
Explanation
The PRRA is the final administrative protection mechanism before removal. Because the 12-month bar applies to most rejected claimants, and because PRRA officers cannot consider evidence that was or could have been presented to the RPD, positive PRRA outcomes are rare — the PRRA is not a re-hearing of the refugee claim. However, where circumstances have genuinely changed after the RPD decision (new country conditions, new personal risk), the PRRA can succeed. A positive PRRA results in protected person status; a negative PRRA does not provide an automatic stay of removal.