3,463 Nigerians got asylum in Canada last year
Canada granted asylum to 3,463 Nigerians last year, a data from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has shown. With the number, Nigeria now ranks among Canada’s top source
- 21,573 cases still pending
Canada granted asylum to 3,463 Nigerians last year, a data from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada has shown.
With the number, Nigeria now ranks among Canada’s top source countries for asylum seekers, alongside India, Haiti, Iran and Mexico.
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The data also revealed that 21,573 applications were still pending at the close of 2025.
It also showed that Nigerians filed 6,765 asylum claims in the year under review.
Of 5,039 cases concluded, 3,463 were approved, 1,377 rejected, 46 abandoned and 153 withdrawn or closed on other grounds.
The record puts the approval rate for Nigerian applicants at about 68%, a sharp rise from previous years.
The 21,573 unresolved Nigerian cases form part of a wider backlog.
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Out of the 107,802 asylum claims received by the Canadian government from all nationalities last year, only 50,067 were decided; 14,619 approved and 7,944 rejected.
Under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, Canada’s Refugee Protection Division grants asylum to people with a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group, or risk of torture if returned home.
Claims can be filed at airports, land borders, or from inside Canada. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada or the Canada Border Services Agency screens for eligibility before the board reviews evidence.
Successful claimants get protected status and may apply for permanent residency; failed claimants face deportation.
The board linked the surge to global instability and displacement but noted new claims fell 64% early this year compared to same period in 2024.
