Fee Waiver for Reclaimed Names

Summary#

The federal government made the Certain Fees in Respect of the Replacement of Identity and Travel Documents (Reclaimed Names) Remission Order to waive fees for replacing certain government identity and travel documents so they show an Indigenous person’s reclaimed name. The order took effect on May 26, 2021 and applies to replacement requests made between May 31, 2021 and May 30, 2026.

What it does#

• Allows an eligible person to get a replacement document without paying the usual fee for these documents:
  • certificate of identity and refugee travel document,
  • permanent resident card,
  • certificate of citizenship, and
  • consular-issued travel documents.
• Requires the applicant to already hold the same kind of valid document with at least six months of validity left when they apply.
• Requires the replacement document to have the same expiry as the original (where applicable).
• Requires proof that the person’s name has been changed to their reclaimed name, usually a birth certificate or legal name-change document.
  • For replacement of a permanent resident card or a certificate of citizenship, a statutory declaration is accepted if the person cannot get the documentary proof.
  • For passports, certificates of identity, and refugee travel documents, the birth certificate or legal document is required (no statutory declaration allowed).
• Applies to applications made in Canada (and, for consular travel documents, in a Canadian mission abroad) during the five-year window from May 31, 2021 to May 30, 2026.
• Notes system limits: Canada’s immigration case system accepts only Roman-alphabet characters (including French accents), so applicants with names using other characters may need to supply an official translation.

Who's affected#

• Primarily Indigenous persons who underwent an imposed name change in Canada (for example through residential schools or government error) and their descendants who want to reclaim ancestral names.
• People who currently hold one of the covered documents and who want the name on that document changed to a reclaimed name.
• The departments involved include Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC), which will process the applications and track the fee remissions.

Why it matters#

• It removes a financial barrier for Indigenous people trying to restore ancestral or reclaimed names on official documents, responding to Call to Action 17 of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
• The measure is time-limited (applications must be made by May 30, 2026), so people who want to use it need to act within that window.
• The government estimated the cost of foregone fees at about $32,120 (split roughly $25,570 for IRCC and $6,550 for GAC), which is a small administrative cost to support name reclamation.
• Practical hurdles remain: applicants still need documentary proof (or, in some cases, a statutory declaration), and system limits on characters may mean extra paperwork for some names.