Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 2: SI/2026-11

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 7

Registration
SI/2026-11 April 8, 2026

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT

P.C. 2026-299 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. 2 under subsection 23(2.1)footnote a of the Financial Administration Act footnote b.

Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 2

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 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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order.)

Proposal

The Governor in Council, considering that the collection of the debt is unreasonable, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, has made the Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 2 (the Remission Order) pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act (FAA).

Objective

The objective of the Remission Order is to remit outstanding debts resulting from the non-collection of the Humanitarian & Compassionate (H&C) permanent residence application processing fees for eligible principal applicants and their accompanying family members whose applications were found ineligible under one of the following public policies:

  1. The Guardian Angels public policies (between December 14, 2020, and August 31, 2021);footnote 1 or
  2. The Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) public policies (between January 2, 2020, and December 21, 2024).footnote 2

Background

Guardian Angels public policies

The two Guardian Angels temporary public policies were developed to facilitate the granting of permanent residence for certain refugee claimants working in the health care sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their accompanying family members. The public policies targeted both failed and pending refugee claimants who worked in a designated occupation providing direct patient care in a hospital, public or private long-term care home or assisted living facility, or for an organization/agency to provide care in private homes. In addition, in recognition that some of these individuals contracted COVID-19 and subsequently passed away, spouses and common-law partners of these individuals who were in Canada could also apply for permanent residence under these public policies.

Some individuals who applied under these public policies requested that H&C grounds be considered should their public policy application not be successful. As a result, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) converted some of these applications from an application under a public policy to an H&C application. In these cases, IRCC processed the H&C requests without requiring a separate H&C application, and without collecting a separate permanent residence application processing fee. However, since there were two eligibility decisions made for these applicants, IRCC should have collected a second processing fee.

Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policy

The Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policy sought to regularize the immigration status of individuals working in the construction industry in the GTA without legal authorization to work, in recognition of their contribution to the Canadian economy by filling a regional labour market need, and to address the vulnerable position of these workers due to their lack of immigration status.

Some individuals who applied under this public policy requested that H&C grounds be considered should their public policy application not be successful. As a result, IRCC converted some of these applications from an application under a public policy to an H&C application. In these cases, even though a second application was created in the system for the H&C requests, IRCC processed these requests without collecting a separate permanent residence application processing fee. However, since there were two eligibility decisions made for these applicants, IRCC should have collected a second processing fee.

Non-collection of fees

The collection of these fees is considered unreasonable, as applicants were not advised up front that they needed to pay additional fees and, for some, it may be a significant burden. In addition, where the applications are closed, requesting fees is no longer practical.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration did not waive the H&C Processing fee in the public policies; therefore, 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 second permanent residence processing fee for eligible applicants whose applications under the Guardian Angels or Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policies were converted to H&C Considerations applications results in foregone revenues to the Government of Canada, as these fees will not be collected.

Guardian Angels public policies

As applications continue to be processed, a total of 66 persons are projected to have their public policy application converted to an H&C Considerations application, and for whom a second permanent resident processing fee is to be remitted. The total cost of foregone revenues from remitting fees paid or payable is up to $29,150.

Table 1: Actual volume of uncollected permanent resident processing fees for applicants whose application to one of the Guardian Angels public policies was converted and processed on humanitarian and compassionate considerations grounds on or before November 1, 2025
Fee waived / Service provided Fee Volume Foregone revenue
Permanent resident (PR) processing fee (principle applicant or spouse or common-law partner) $635 34 $21,590
PR processing fee (dependent child) $175 24 $4,200
TOTAL N/A 58 $25,790
Table 2: Forecasted volume of uncollected permanent resident processing fees for applicants whose application to one of the Guardian Angels public policies was converted and processed on humanitarian and compassionate considerations grounds on November 2, 2025, or later
Fee waived / Service provided Fee Volume Foregone revenue
PR processing fee (principle applicant or spouse or common-law partner) $660 4 $2,640
PR processing fee (dependent child) $180 4 $720
TOTAL N/A 8 $3,360

Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policy

As applications continue to be processed, a total of 22 persons are projected to have their public policy application converted to an H&C Considerations application, and for whom a second permanent resident processing fee is to be remitted. The total cost of foregone revenues from remitting fees paid or payable is up to $10,970.

Table 3: Actual volume of uncollected permanent resident processing fees for applicants whose application to the Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policy was converted and processed on humanitarian and compassionate considerations grounds on or before November 1, 2025
Fee waived / Service provided Fee Volume Foregone revenue
PR processing fee (principle applicant or spouse or common-law partner) $635 7 $4,445
PR processing fee (dependent child) $175 3 $525
TOTAL N/A 10 $4,970
Table 4: Forecasted volume of uncollected permanent resident processing fees for applicants whose application to the Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA public policy was converted and processed on humanitarian and compassionate considerations grounds on November 2, 2025, or later
Fee waived / Service provided Fee Volume Foregone revenue
PR processing fee (principle applicant or spouse or common-law partner) $660 8 $5,280
PR processing fee (dependent child) $180 4 $720
TOTAL N/A 12 $6,000

Accountability implications

All remissions associated with the Remission Order will be reported in the annual IRCC Fees Reports and IRCC Public Accounts.

Contact

Julie Clark
Acting Director General
Resettlement, Family and Humanitarian Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Email: Julie.Clark@cic.gc.ca