Canadian Law Bars Refugee Claims After One-Year Entry Limit

OTTAWA - Mohammed Al Hindi, a Palestinian man who fled the Gaza Strip with his family amid the Israel-Hamas war, faces uncertainty in his refugee claim due to a new Canadian immigration law that bars applications filed more than a year after initial entry into the country.

Al Hindi first arrived in Canada on August 9, 2023, for a seven-week stay to donate a kidney to his sister, a Canadian citizen. The surgery occurred about a month later, and he departed for Egypt on September 23, 2023, before returning to Gaza on October 2. Five days later, Hamas's attack on Israel sparked the ongoing conflict, forcing Al Hindi, his wife, and their three children to escape the violence. In spring 2024, they reached Egypt after paying a company $17,500 to exit the war zone. The family entered Canada again in 2025 through a program providing temporary work and study visas for relatives of citizens; Al Hindi arrived in February, with his family following in May. He submitted his refugee claim on September 4, 2025.

Bill C-12, enacted last year, prohibits referral of refugee claims made on or after June 3, 2025, to the Immigration and Refugee Board if submitted more than one year after the...