Canada-United States Safe Third Country Agreement

The Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) is a legal pact where Canada and the U.S. agree that asylum seekers must request protection in the first country they arrive in unless they qualify for an exception. If someone arrives at Canada’s border from the U.S. seeking asylum, Canada generally will send them back to the U.S. to apply there instead, because both countries consider each other safe for refugees. This agreement aims to manage irregular border crossings efficiently, but it can leave some asylum seekers unable to access protection if they haven’t applied in the first country they entered.