Remission Order for Certain Fees Under the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (March 31, 2026 to April 29, 2026): SI/2026-28
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 160, Number 12
Registration
SI/2026-28 June 17, 2026
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
Remission Order for Certain Fees Under the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (March 31, 2026 to April 29, 2026)
P.C. 2026-555 June 4, 2026
Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, considering that the collection of certain amounts is unreasonable, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, under subsection 23(2.1)footnote a of the Financial Administration Actfootnote b, remits the amount of the difference between the fee to be paid for a service set out in any of items 1 to 3 and 5 of the schedule to the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulationsfootnote c, as adjusted on March 31, 2026 in accordance with section 17footnote d of the Service Fees Actfootnote e, and the fee actually paid in respect of that service if an application form indicating the fee in effect for that service until March 30, 2026 was received by mail during the period beginning on March 31, 2026 and ending on April 29, 2026.
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 (the Minister), has made the Remission Order for Certain Fees Under the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (March 31, 2026 to April 29, 2026) [the Remission Order], pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act.
Objective
The objective of this Remission Order is to remit the anticipated outstanding debt owing to His Majesty equal to the difference in the amount of fees payable under the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations (the Regulations) as of March 31, 2026 (the New Fees), less the amount of fees payable under the Regulations as of March 30, 2026 (the Old Fees), for applications received between March 31, 2026, and April 29, 2026, inclusive, from those who applied by mail using an old form for one or more services set out in the Schedule to the Regulations, and who paid the Old Fees despite being required to pay the New Fees.
Background
On March 31, 2026, by operation of law, applicable Passport Program fees set out in the Schedule to the Regulations were increased in line with the percentage change over 12 months in the April All-items Consumer Price Index (CPI) for Canada, as required by section 17 of the Service Fees Act.
In preparation for this fee increase, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (the Department or IRCC) identified a potential issue where outdated paper application forms listing the Old Fees would be in circulation after the fee adjustment, with clients potentially inadvertently authorizing payments based upon these now outdated fee amounts. Most outdated forms were removed from circulation through coordination efforts with Service Canada, Global Affairs Canada and Canada Post. However, it is estimated that up to 75 000 clients could inadvertently authorize insufficient payment. This risk only affects clients submitting paper-based applications by mail; clients opting for in-person or online services are not at risk of submitting an old application and authorizing an insufficient payment, as they will be prompted to pay the appropriate amount payable.
The Department explored potential ways to address this, including calling clients to collect the fee difference between the Old Fees and the New Fees. However, this approach would be more than four times more costly than the amount to be collected, and could lead to significant service delays in application processing if clients could not be reached. To avoid this, the Department implemented a 30-day grace period during which it did not collect the fee difference from those who applied for passport and other travel document services by mail using an old form and submitted the fee, which was correctly payable prior to it being increased on March 31, 2026, where the application was received between March 31, 2026, and April 29, 2026, inclusive. As of April 30, 2026, mail-in client applications using an old form and insufficient payment will be deemed incomplete and rejected as per standard practice. Clients will not be charged, and they will be notified of the reason for rejection and provided information on the updated fees.
The uncollected fee differentials represent an ongoing debt owed by applicants to the Crown. It would be unreasonable for the Department to collect small amounts of fee increases from clients who are unaware of the debt and who were likely unaware that their application form was since outdated; at a cost associated with the collection of the debts that would be substantially more than the anticipated foregone revenue. The Minister does not have the legal authority to not collect fees otherwise payable under the Regulations as adjusted by the Service Fees Act. Consequently, a Remission Order is required to extinguish the debt.
This Remission Order will remit foregone revenue totalling up to $242,200.25. To avoid this issue during future annual fee adjustments, the Department is creating a new series of paper application forms without specific fees listed.
Implications
This Remission Order remits the debts owing to the Crown for certain applications received by mail between March 31, 2026 and April 29, 2026, inclusive. The total foregone revenue from remitting fees payable for the period covered by this Remission Order is up to $242,200.25.
| Fee waived / Service provided | Volume | Old Fees | New Fees | Total foregone revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult regular passport, in-Canada service, 10-year validity | 53 406 | $135.00 | $138.50 | $186,921.00 |
| Adult regular passport, outside Canada service, 10-year validity | 3 749 | $235.00 | $241.25 | $23,431.25 |
| Adult regular passport, in-Canada service, 5-year validity | 2 796 | $95.00 | $97.50 | $6,990.00 |
| Adult regular passport, outside Canada service, 5-year validity | 167 | $165.00 | $169.25 | $709.75 |
| Child regular passport, in-Canada service, 5-year validity | 13 188 | $57.00 | $58.50 | $19,782.00 |
| Child regular passport, outside Canada service, 5-year validity | 982 | $100.00 | $102.50 | $2,455.00 |
| Adult certificate of identity | 35 | $235.00 | $241.25 | $218.75 |
| Adult refugee travel document | 677 | $95.00 | $97.50 | $1,692.50 |
| Total | 75 000 | $242,200.25 |
Accountability
All remissions associated with the Remission Order will be reported in the IRCC Fees Reports and IRCC Public Accounts.
Contact
Kathryn Fredericks
Director
Passport Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Email: Kathryn.Fredericks@cic.gc.ca