IEC Fee Remission for 2019–2024
Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in Canada Remission Order: SI/2025-113
The order forgives small unpaid differences in the International Experience Canada (IEC) application fee for applications submitted between 2019-12-01 and 2024-11-30, totaling $74,489.82. The shortfall occurred because the intake system could not accept cents and rounded fees down; IRCC fixed the system on 2024-12-01 and will not pursue collection of these amounts.
- Published
- December 17, 2025
- Department
- Unavailable
- Section
- Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in Canada Remission Order
- Comment deadline
- Unavailable
- Effective date
- December 5, 2025
- Publication part
- Part II
Summary
Summary#
The Fee to be Paid by Foreign Nationals to Participate in an International Youth Exchange Program in Canada Remission Order cancels small unpaid fee differences for people who applied to the International Experience Canada (IEC) program between December 1, 2019 and November 30, 2024. The government says these unpaid amounts total $74,489.82, and it would be inefficient to try to collect them.
What it does#
- Remits (forgives) the difference between the IEC application fee as it should have been adjusted for inflation and the lower amounts actually collected during the period December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2024.
- Explains why the difference happened: the application intake system could not accept cents, so fees were rounded down after annual Consumer Price Index adjustments.
- Notes that the intake system was fixed and began charging the fully adjusted fee on December 1, 2024.
- Says the remissions will be reported in Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Fees Reports and the IRCC Public Accounts.
Details from the government’s figures:
- 2020 season (Dec 1, 2019–Nov 30, 2020): per-app shortfall $0.30 × 24,588 applicants = $7,376.40
- 2021 season (Dec 1, 2020–Nov 30, 2021): per-app shortfall $0.37 × 22,665 applicants = $8,386.05
- 2022 season (Dec 1, 2021–Nov 30, 2022): per-app shortfall $0.05 × 66,837 applicants = $3,341.85
- 2023 season (Dec 1, 2022–Nov 30, 2023): per-app shortfall $0.36 × 83,137 applicants = $29,929.32
- 2024 season (Dec 1, 2023–Nov 30, 2024): per-app shortfall $0.33 × 77,140 applicants = $25,456.20
- Total foregone revenue: $74,489.82
Who's affected#
- Foreign nationals who applied to the International Experience Canada (IEC) program during December 1, 2019 to November 30, 2024.
- The amounts involved are very small per person (cents to a few dimes).
- The notice does not say whether individuals will get a personal refund or formal notification; it only says the debts are being remitted and will be reported in IRCC’s financial reports.
Why it matters#
- Individuals who owe these tiny fee differences will not be pursued for payment. Collecting them would cost more in time and administration than the amounts recovered.
- It fixes a past technical problem (the intake system couldn’t accept cents) and records the government’s choice to write off the small shortfall ($74,489.82) rather than chase many small debts.
- The action is primarily an internal financial clean-up. If you applied to IEC in the listed years, this explains why the department didn’t demand extra cents from applicants and why those small amounts are being formally forgiven.
Key topics
Source: Canada Gazette