Remission of PR Fees for H&C Conversions

Summary#

The Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 2 forgives certain unpaid permanent-residence processing fees for people whose temporary public-policy applications were converted into humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) requests. The order was made on March 30, 2026 and published in the Canada Gazette on April 8, 2026.

What it does#

• Grants remission (forgiveness) of the second permanent-residence processing fee that was owed when a public-policy application was converted into an H&C application. The fee in question comes from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (section 307).
• Applies only when all these conditions are met:
  • The principal applicant originally applied under either the Guardian Angels public policies or the Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the Greater Toronto Area public policies.
  • The applicant (or an accompanying family member) did not meet the public-policy eligibility and an H&C request was made.
• Covers the principal applicant and any accompanying family members named on the application.
• Shows the expected fee amounts and projected numbers:
  • For applications processed on or before November 1, 2025 the fees were $635 (principal or spouse/common-law partner) and $175 (dependent child).
  • For applications processed on or after November 2, 2025 the fees were $660 (principal or spouse/common-law partner) and $180 (dependent child).
  • Projected impact:
    • 66 people from the Guardian Angels policies, with foregone revenue up to $29,150.
    • 22 people from the Out-of-Status Construction Workers in the GTA policies, with foregone revenue up to $10,970.
    • Combined foregone revenue up to $40,120.

Who's affected#

• People who applied under the named temporary public policies and later had their file converted into an H&C permanent-residence request. This includes the principal applicant and any accompanying family members.
• The federal department handling these files, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), will record the remissions in its fee reports.
• The numbers are limited and projected: about 88 people in total (66 + 22 as reported).

Why it matters#

• For affected applicants, it removes an unexpected or burdensome second fee they might otherwise have had to pay. That can avoid debt and simplify closure of these cases.
• For the public purse, it means a small loss of revenue (up to $40,120), which the government says is reasonable because applicants were not warned they would need to pay an extra fee.
• The change is narrow and administrative: it fixes past fee-collection practice where IRCC did not collect a second processing fee after converting some public-policy files into H&C requests.