H&C Permanent Residence Fee Remission

Summary#

The government made the Fees Paid or Payable for the Processing of an Application for Permanent Resident Status (Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations) Remission Order, No. 1 on March 30, 2026 and it was published on April 8, 2026. The order cancels (remits) certain unpaid humanitarian-and‑compassionate (H&C) permanent‑residence processing fees that were not collected for people who had applied under temporary public policies; the total foregone revenue is $107,900.

What it does#

• Remits (forgives) fees that were paid or payable for H&C permanent‑residence processing under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations when those fees were not collected but should have been.
• Applies when a person first applied under a temporary public policy (for example the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway (TR to PR Pathway)) but did not meet that policy’s rules and then asked for H&C consideration, and IRCC processed the H&C request without charging the separate H&C fee.
• Lists the standard fees involved:
  • $550 for a principal applicant (about 120 cases).
  • $550 for a spouse or common‑law partner (about 53 cases).
  • $150 for a child (about 85 cases).
• The combined amount the government will not collect is $107,900.

Who's affected#

• People who applied under the Temporary Resident to Permanent Resident Pathway (TR to PR Pathway) and related temporary public policies in 2021–2022, who then sought H&C consideration because they did not meet the policy requirements.
• The order covers both the principal applicants and any accompanying family members in those cases.
• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) will record and report these remissions in its fee reports and public accounts.
• If it’s unclear whether a specific person is covered, the source says eligibility depends on which temporary public policy was used and whether an H&C request was processed without collecting the fee.

Why it matters#

• It prevents IRCC from trying to collect old small debts that would be costly or impractical to chase. The amount involved is modest ($107,900) but recovery would have required extra work.
• For people involved, it means they will not be pursued for those specific H&C processing fees tied to these temporary pathways.
• For the public finances, it is recorded as forgone revenue and will appear in IRCC’s financial reporting.