info pages for refugees
Welcome Dear Visitor
Bridges Not Borders is a small group of Canadian volunteers who live in the area near Roxham Road in southern Quebec. Since 2017, we have been providing information on the border situation and the rules for asylum seekers who want to enter Canada. We are not lawyers, and we cannot advise you what to do. But we provide information to help you decide.
Bridges Not Borders is a small group of Canadian volunteers who live in the area near Roxham Road in southern Quebec. Since 2017, we have been providing information on the border situation and the rules for asylum seekers who want to enter Canada. We are not lawyers, and we cannot advise you what to do. But we provide information to help you decide.
We have four information pages for asylum seekers. Here is an outline of what you will find on the four pages.
PAGE 1: Before You Travel: Everybody should read this page!
- Vaccinations and quarantine rules
- Keeping warm in spring, autumn and winter
- Be prepared to explain your asylum case
- If you have already applied for asylum in the US
- Help in New York State
- Beware of trafficking operations and people charging a lot of money to take you to Canada
- UNHCR Information Sheets
PAGE 2: Can I enter Canada at an official land Port of Entry (POE)?
- Find out if you qualify to enter at a POE under the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA): for example, if you have an anchor family member in Canada with the right immigration status or you are an unaccompanied child.
- Get advice about the STCA interview, necessary proof and documentation
- If you have been excluded from Canada under STCA rules
- Applying for asylum in the US
PAGE 3: Crossing into Canada at Roxham Road (New York State)
In the USA
In the USA
- Help in the USA
- Volunteers at Roxham Road
- Getting to the border at Roxham Road:
- Travel to Plattsburgh
- Taxis from Plattsburgh, NY
- What happens at Roxham Road
- What Canadian police (RCMP) will say to you
- Photos of Roxham Road installations
- Is it really illegal to cross at Roxham?
- process at Roxham Road
- transfer to Lacolle for security checks and Immigration processes
- do you want to travel to another province in Canada?
- Covid testing and quarantine
- Help for asylum seekers in Montreal
- temporary shelter, welfare benefits, healthcare, legal aid, work permits etc.
- current wait times to appear before the Refugee Protection Division
PAGE 4: UN Refugee Agency in Canada: Information Sheets for Asylum Seekers
Nine information sheets providing a range of information on the asylum process and the STCA.
Nine information sheets providing a range of information on the asylum process and the STCA.