Fee Remission for Afghan Resettlement

Summary#

The government made the Certain Fees Paid or Payable for the Acquisition of Permanent Resident Status, Travel Document Services and Consular Services (Resettlement from Afghanistan) Remission Order to cancel or reimburse certain fees charged to people caught up in the evacuation from Afghanistan. The order was made on June 23, 2023 and published in the Canada Gazette on July 5, 2023. The estimated cost to the federal government is up to $1,654,355.

What it does#

• Remits (forgives) the fee for acquiring permanent resident status under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations for people processed under several temporary public policies for Afghan nationals. This includes reimbursing family members who already paid that fee.
• Remits certain document fees under the Citizenship Regulations and the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for people who applied abroad between August 25, 2021 and December 31, 2023, if they were Canadian citizens or permanent residents who were in Afghanistan or en route and urgently needed to travel because of the fall of Kabul — and, if they applied outside Afghanistan, Canada helped their travel.
• Remits consular-service fees under the Consular Services Fees Regulations for temporary passports issued at a Canadian mission abroad between August 25, 2021 and December 31, 2023 when the person urgently needed to travel because of the fall of Kabul.
• The order came into force on the day it was made (June 23, 2023).

Who's affected#

• People from Afghanistan who were resettled or otherwise assisted after the fall of Kabul under various temporary public policies between August 25, 2021 and January 30, 2023.
• Family members who already paid the Right of Permanent Resident Fee on behalf of Afghan arrivals. Between December 2021 and January 2022, 9 family members paid the fee for 84 Afghan nationals, totaling $42,000.
• Canadian citizens and permanent residents who were in Afghanistan or were en route to Canada and needed urgent travel help from the Government of Canada after the fall of Kabul.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) will be the departments reporting the remissions in their annual fees reports.

Why it matters#

• It removes or repays fees for people who had to leave Afghanistan quickly. That reduces the financial burden on vulnerable people and their sponsors.
• It clears up a legal/financial issue: some fees had been waived in practice but were still technically payable. The order extinguishes that debt.
• It costs taxpayers up to $1,654,355, with $751,625 recorded for 2022–23 and an estimated $902,730 for 2023–24.
• It provides a formal, public record of the refunds and fee remissions, which will be reported by IRCC and GAC in their fees reports.