Fees Remitted for X Gender Marker

Summary#

The government made the Fees for the Addition of an Observation to or for the Replacement of Travel Documents, Permanent Resident Cards and Citizenship Certificates Remission Order: SI/2021-24. Registered May 26, 2021, it cancels (remits) certain fees charged to people who asked for an “X” gender marker on federal identity documents during specific past time windows.

What it does#

• Remits fees for adding a special observation (telling readers that the sex field should be read as “X”) to travel documents when the request was made between August 31, 2017 and June 4, 2019, and the existing document had at least six months left before expiry. The usual fee in those cases was $45.
• Remits fees for replacing a valid document so it directly shows an “X” when the replacement request was made between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. This covers:
  • Consular travel-document fee of $25 (applies to adult travel documents).
  • Adult refugee travel-document fee of $95.
  • Citizenship certificate replacement fee of $75.
  • Permanent resident card replacement fee of $50.
• Requires that replaced travel documents kept the same expiry date as the original when the replacement was done under these rules.
• Allows refunds if someone already paid and later is found to meet the conditions for remission.

Who's affected#

• People who asked for an “X” sex or gender identifier on a federal travel or status document during the windows above. That includes:
  • Canadian citizens and permanent residents who applied for passports, certificates of identity, refugee travel documents, permanent resident cards, or citizenship certificates in those dates.
  • Parents or legal guardians who applied for children's documents under the same conditions.
• The change mainly impacts people who do not identify exclusively as female or male — including non-binary people and others in the LGBTQ2+ community.
• The order affects government departments that handle the fees: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) (for the consular fee).

Why it matters#

• It removes out-of-pocket costs for people who sought the more inclusive “X” marker during the transition to printing “X” directly on documents. The government says the total foregone revenue is $8,030 (about $1,955 for IRCC and $6,075 for GAC).
• It acknowledges that gender identity may not fit the binary options on older documents and reduces a financial barrier for people updating their federal ID to reflect their gender.
• Practically, people who already paid and meet the rules can get refunds. Since June 4, 2020, however, asking for an “X” is treated as a new application and normal fees apply.