Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 1: SI/2026-10
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 7
Registration
SI/2026-10 April 8, 2026
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
P.C. 2026-298 March 30, 2026
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, considering that the collection of certain fees is unreasonable, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 1 under subsection 23(2.1)footnote a of the Financial Administration Actfootnote b.
Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 1
Definition of principal applicant
1 In this Order, principal applicant means a foreign national who has made an application under a public policy for permanent resident status or a permanent resident visa for themselves and, if applicable, any accompanying family member.
Remission
2 (1) Subject to subsection (2), remission is granted to a principal applicant or a family member of the principal applicant of the fees paid or payable under section 307 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for the processing of an application made under subsection 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
Conditions
(2) Remission is granted on condition that
- (a) the principal applicant made an application for permanent resident status or a permanent resident visa that was processed under
- (i) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in essential occupations, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on April 12, 2021,
- (ii) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on April 12, 2021,
- (iii) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with recent Canadian work experience in essential occupations, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on April 12, 2021,
- (iv) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for French-speaking foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on April 12, 2021,
- (v) the Temporary public policy for the issuance of permanent resident visas for foreign nationals, who have been refused under the “Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway”, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on April 21, 2022,
- (vi) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, with a recent credential from a Canadian post-secondary institution who applied in excess of the application intake cap, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on June 28, 2021, or
- (vii) the Temporary public policy to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for foreign nationals in Canada, outside of Quebec, who used an alternative format to apply to the Temporary Pathway to Permanent Residence and whose applications were received in excess of the application intake cap, signed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration on August 9, 2021;
- (b) the principal applicant or, if applicable, the family member of the principal applicant did not meet the conditions set out in the public policy under which the application was processed; and
- (c) the principal applicant or, if applicable, the family member of the principal applicant made a request under subsection 25(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
The Governor in Council, considering that the collection of certain fees is unreasonable, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act (FAA), has made the Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 1 (the Remission Order).
Objective
The objective of the Remission Order is to remit outstanding debts resulting from the non-collection of the humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) permanent residence application processing fees.
Background
Due to border closures during the pandemic, on May 6, 2021, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched the time-limited Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway (TR to PR Pathway) to help retain temporary residents who were already living and working in Canada in support of the economic recovery. This special measure closed when the caps were reached or on November 5, 2021, whichever came first. Applicants of the TR to PR Pathway were then required to pay a permanent residence application fee to have their application considered under the Pathway.
Some individuals who applied under the TR to PR Pathway between May 6 and November 5, 2021, did not meet the requirements under the public policies and requested that H&C grounds be considered to waive the requirements of the public policies that they did not meet. The application fee paid by those who did not meet the requirements of the TR to PR Pathway should have been considered “spent” once it was determined they did not meet the requirements of the public policy.
IRCC processed the H&C requests as applications for permanent residence on H&C grounds without requiring a separate H&C application and without collecting a separate permanent residence application processing fee. The TR to PR Pathway itself did not waive permanent residence application fees. However, since a separate H&C permanent residence application with associated processing fees, collected under section 307 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, is required for H&C requests to be considered in this scenario, a remission order is needed to remit fees that were not collected.
The collection of the debt is considered unreasonable, since many of these applications are now closed, and the administrative burden may outweigh potential recovery.
The Minister of IRCC did not waive the H&C processing fee in the public policy; as such, the fee is still legally payable under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. An Order in Council is needed to allow for the remission of this fee.
Implications
The remission of fees incurred from not collecting the H&C processing fees results in forgone revenues to the Government of Canada, as these fees will not be collected.
| Fee waived/service provided | Fee | Volume | Foregone revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| H&C processing fee (principal applicant) | $550 | 120 | $66,000 |
| H&C processing fee (spouse or common-law) | $550 | 53 | $29,150 |
| H&C processing fee (child) | $150 | 85 | $12,750 |
| TOTAL | N/A | N/A | $107,900 |
Accountability
All remissions associated with the Remission Order will be reported in the IRCC fees reports and IRCC public accounts.
Contact
James McNamee
Senior Director
Permanent Economic Immigration
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 0B6