Canada’s acceptance rate for Syrian refugees around 90 per cent: Ottawa

Some useful background data on Syrian-refugee acceptance rates:

Canada has rejected just two UN-referred Syrian refugee cases because of security concerns over the past 22 months.

The two cases represent 13 people, according to Immigration Department figures. That means more than 99 per cent of the 1,128 cases referred to Canada between January, 2014, and Nov. 3, 2015, were not of sufficient concern to be blocked for security reasons. It’s not clear how many were turned down for other reasons. The cases do not include privately sponsored refugees.

Over all, Canada’s acceptance rate for Syrian refugees has been “around 90 per cent,” said Immigration spokeswoman Nancy Caron. The figure includes both United Nations-referred and privately sponsored refugee streams.

The low number of security-related rejections presents a contrast to estimates in the United States, where officials said they expect their admission rate for Syrian refugees will “edge up” above 50 per cent. But it is also an indication of why Canada’s border services agency and the RCMP have expressed confidence in their ability to assess 25,000 refugees over just a few months.

According to a source, plans for the coming wave of government-sponsored Syrian refugees destined for Canada assume an acceptance rate of about 90 per cent. A case can include more than one person, as families tend to apply together.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister John McCallum said in an interview he did not know the current acceptance rate for Syrian refugees, nor could he predict what it might be in the future. When asked about the divergence with U.S. estimates, Mr. McCallum did not have an explanation.

“All I can tell you is we are focused on the most vulnerable. We interview all those applicants with great care. The officials will readily put to one side anyone for whom they have a reasonable suspicion but I cannot tell you what percentage of the people they meet that would be,” Mr. McCallum said.

Source: Canada’s acceptance rate for Syrian refugees around 90 per cent: Ottawa – The Globe and Mail