You stay legally under examination longer than most travellers assume. It ends when you are found admissible and actually walk out of the port of entry, when you leave as a transit passenger, when you withdraw and an officer confirms you left, or when a removal decision is made and you go. For a refugee claim it stretches further, until eligibility is decided or the Refugee Protection Division rules on the claim.
(1)Subject to subsection (2), the examination of a person who seeks to enter Canada, or who makes an application to transit through Canada, ends only when (a)a determination is made that the person has a right to enter Canada, or is authorized to enter Canada as a temporary resident or permanent resident, the person is authorized to leave the port of entry at which the examination takes place and the person leaves the port of entry; (b)if the person is an in-transit passenger, the person departs from Canada; (c)the person is authorized to withdraw their application to enter Canada and an officer verifies their departure from Canada; or (d)a decision in respect of the person is made under subsection 44(2) of the Act and the person leaves the port of entry.
(2)The examination of a person who makes a claim for refugee protection at a port of entry or inside Canada other than at a port of entry ends when the later of the following occurs: (a)an officer determines that their claim is ineligible under section 101 of the Act or the Refugee Protection Division accepts or rejects their claim under section 107 of the Act; (b)a decision in respect of the person is made under subsection 44(2) of the Act and, in the case of a claim made at a port of entry, the person leaves the port of entry.