8 Canadian immigration policy changes effective from 01/04/2026

The past 2 days have seen multiple immigration measures and policies simultaneously come into effect in Canada, including increases to Canadian citizenship and passport fees as well as relaxed income requirements for those intending to sponsor parents and grandparents via super visa.

Increase in Canadian passport fees

Affected parties: applicants for Canadian passport first-time or renewal.

From 31/03/2026, Canadians will face higher passport fees for the first time since 2013. This increase affects all passports and travel documents, as well as related service fees, both within and outside Canada.

Adults applying for a 10-year regular passport from within Canada will pay 163.50 CAD, up from 160 CAD. Meanwhile, the fee for a 5-year regular adult passport from within Canada increases from 120 CAD to 122.50 CAD. The fee increase is attributed to inflation and the rising cost of producing secure travel documents.

30-day passport processing guarantee comes into effect

Affected parties: applicants for a Canadian passport first-time or renewal.

From 01/04, Canadian citizens can expect passport applications to be processed within 30 business days — or receive the passport for free. Under the new “30 days or free” initiative, applicants will automatically receive a full refund of passport or travel document fees if processing takes longer than 30 business days.

Processing time begins when a complete application is received and ends when the passport or travel document is printed and verified, excluding mail time. A complete application includes the filled-out form, all necessary documents (including passport photos), and payment of applicable fees. Refunds will be issued automatically if processing exceeds 30 business days.

Increase in citizenship right fees

Affected parties: applicants for Canadian citizenship.

From 31/03/2026, the federal government is increasing fees for all citizenship applications through the right of citizenship fee. The right of citizenship fee increases by 3.25 CAD from 119.75 CAD to 123 CAD. The adult citizenship application processing fee remains unchanged at 530 CAD.

The right of citizenship fee is adjusted annually as required to help maintain sustainable and consistent service over time. It should also be noted that the application cost for Canadian permanent residents will increase at the end of the month (30/04).

Relaxed income requirements for the super visa programme

Affected parties: those intending to sponsor parents or grandparents via super visa but who do not meet the minimum income requirement.

From 31/03/2026, Canada has added more options to meet income requirements for the super visa. The super visa is a long-term multiple-entry visa that allows parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens or permanent residents to visit for up to 5 consecutive years at a time and is valid for up to 10 years.

Under the new rules, sponsors have 2 additional ways to meet the required minimum income threshold:

Expanded income assessment: the sponsor and co-signer (if applicable) may qualify by meeting the income threshold in one of the 2 tax years prior to the application date.

Supplementing sponsor income: if the sponsor and co-signer meet part of the required threshold, the income of the visiting parent or grandparent can be added to cover the shortfall.

This is a temporary route for extended family visits, not a permanent residency programme. However, it may be an alternative for families unable to use Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP).

Provinces granted more authority to assess candidates

Affected parties: provincial nominee applicants.

From 30/03/2026, Canadian provinces and territories have more authority in assessing candidates on 2 factors: whether the candidate intends to reside in the nominating province or territory; and whether the candidate can settle economically in Canada.

Thanks to the regulatory change transferring responsibility from the federal government to the provinces and territories, officers IRCC will no longer independently assess candidate eligibility PNP on these factors.

If IRCC officials discover information of concern, they must consult the nominating province or territory, which then has a set period to review the concerns and decide whether to maintain or withdraw the nomination.

These changes shift a significant portion of eligibility assessments to the provincial stage. This means applicants can expect provinces to scrutinise their intent to reside and economic prospects more closely before issuing a nomination.

Changes to eligibility criteria for settlement support services

Affected groups: economic permanent residents, accompanying spouses; temporary residents and protected persons eligible for settlement services.

From 1 April, economic immigrants can access federally funded settlement services for up to 6 years after obtaining permanent resident status.

This is a change from the previous policy, under which economic immigrants could access these services at any time after becoming permanent residents and before acquiring Canadian citizenship. The new time limit applies to both current and new economic permanent residents.

From 1 April 2027, the eligibility criteria will tighten further, with access limited to a maximum of 5 years after obtaining permanent resident status.

Expanded access to work permits in rural areas

Affected groups: foreign nationals in rural areas seeking employment under the low-wage stream of the Temporary Foreign Worker Programme.

From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, rural employers can recruit additional temporary foreign workers. Under the new measures, these employers are permitted to maintain their current number of low-wage temporary foreign workers and employ low-wage temporary foreign workers up to 15% of their workforce, increased from the previous 10% cap.

This measure will only apply to rural employers in participating provinces and territories. The announcement was made by Employment and Social Development Canada to help employers in these regions meet labour demand.

Saskatchewan Provincial Nominee Programme increases application fees

Affected groups: applicants under Saskatchewan labour immigration streams.

From 1 April 2026, Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) extends the CAD 500 application fee and CAD 250 second review fee to all labour applicants across all categories. Applications submitted before 1 April will not be subject to the new fees.

Note: a second review is a process that may be requested if an application is assessed as ineligible by the SINP and the applicant believes there was an error in the processing or evaluation of the application, based on the criteria applicable at that time.