# Canadian Refugee Procedure/20.1-20.2 - Designated Foreign Nationals
## IRPA Sections 20.1-20.2

Sections 20.1-20.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act read:

### "Designated Foreign National" is a term defined in section 2 of the IRPA

Section 2 of the IRPA, the Act's definitions section, provides that "designated foreign national has the meaning assigned by subsection 20.1(2). (étranger désigné)". See: Canadian Refugee Procedure/2-3 - Definitions, objectives, and application of the IRPA#IRPA Section 2.

### An "irregular arrival" is the arrival of a group of persons who meet the conditions specified

Section 20.1(1) of the Act provides that the Minister may, by order, having regard to the public interest, designate as an irregular arrival the arrival in Canada of a "group" of persons. A "group" is left undefined and has generally been considered 2 or more persons. Professor Jennifer Bond writes that "It is significant to note that the Bill does not define the term “group,” meaning that any claimant who does not arrive alone may be susceptible to being declared a designated foreign national."

### The Designated Foreign Nationals regime was established pursuant to the Protecting Canada’s Immigration System Act in 2012

The PCISA reforms established a regime for what are termed Designated Foreign Nationals. DFNs, as defined in the Act, are groups of two or more refugee claimants suspected by the Minister of Public Safety 'irregular arrival' with the aid of smugglers. The implications of being so designated include that DFNs will be automatically detained until their refugee claim is determined if they are sixteen years of age or older. This built on the way that mandatory detention had already been utilized in Canada after the arrival of Tamil refugees aboard the MV Ocean Lady and MV Sun Sea in 2010. Furthermore, even if their claim is accepted, DFNs are unable to apply for permanent residence status for five years, as well as being unable to obtain a travel document and unable to sponsor family members. Since being implemented in 2013, the DFN policy has been utilized only once. For more context to this legislation, see: Canadian Refugee Procedure/History of refugee procedure in Canada#Refugee reform in 2010 and 2012.

## References

* ↑ Bond, Jennifer. "Failure to Report: The Manifestly Unconstitutional Nature of the Human Smugglers Act." Osgoode Hall Law Journal 51.2 (2014) : 377-425, <http://digitalcommons.osgoode.yorku.ca/ohlj/vol51/iss2/1>, page 393.
* ↑ Shauna Labman, Crossing Law’s Border: Canada’s Refugee Resettlement Program, 2019, UBC Press: Vancouver, page 51.
* 1 2 Audrey Macklin & Joshua Blum, Country Fiche: Canada, ASILE: Global Asylum Governance and the European Union's Role, January 2021, <https://www.asileproject.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Country-Fiche_CANADA_Final_Pub.pdf> (Accessed April 2, 2021), page 8.
* 1 2 George Melnyk and Christina Parker, Finding Refuge in Canada: Narratives of Dislocation, February 2021, Athabasca University Press, ISBN 9781771993029, page 12.
* ↑ Harsha Walia, Border & Rule, Winnipeg: Fernwood Publishing, 2021, ISBN: 9781773634524, page 102.
* ↑ Schultz, J., Nakache, D. Unsettling expectations of stay: probationary immigration policies in Canada and Norway. CMS 12, 19 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40878-024-00379-y