IRCC fee bump April 1
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is increasing fees tied to repayment of removal expenses effective April 1, signaling immediate cost impacts for clients who face or have faced enforced removals (x.com).
IRCC’s payment schedule lists a CAN$12,880 charge for escorted removals by air and CAN$3,840 for certain unescorted removals when the Canada Border Services Agency paid the removal costs (canada.ca). (canada.ca) For people removed before April 1, 2025, IRCC’s guidance sets repayment amounts at CAN$899 for removals to the United States or St‑Pierre and Miquelon and CAN$1,799 for removals to any other country. (canada.ca) IRCC specifies that applicants must pay application processing fees (non‑refundable) plus any removal costs if CBSA covered the removal, and that the exact removal cost will be communicated once IRCC begins processing an application and will only be collected if the application is approved. (canada.ca) The Canada Border Services Agency announced the updated cost‑recovery framework on January 3, 2025, explaining recoverable removal fees were being adjusted from roughly CAN$1,500 previously to just over CAN$12,800 for escorted removals and just over CAN$3,800 for unescorted removals. (canada.ca) CBSA’s notice states the new framework replaces a geographic‑based recovery model that had not been updated since 1993 and that adults will be charged the fee structure that applied when they became subject to the removal order and were removed. (canada.ca) IRCC’s authorization‑to‑return guidance was updated on April 1, 2025 and confirms an exemption from repaying removal expenses for people who were under 18 when the removal order was issued. (canada.ca)
