Certain Fees in Respect of Travel Document Services and Consular Services (COVID-19 Pandemic) Remission Order: SI/2021-22
Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 155, Number 11
Registration
SI/2021-22 May 26, 2021
FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATION ACT
P.C. 2021-398 May 14, 2021
His Excellency the Administrator of the Government of Canada in Council, considering that it is in the public interest to do so, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) footnote a of the Financial Administration Act footnote b, makes the annexed Certain Fees in Respect of Travel Document Services and Consular Services (COVID-19 Pandemic) Remission Order.
Certain Fees in Respect of Travel Document Services and Consular Services (COVID-19 Pandemic) Remission Order
Interpretation
Definition of refugee travel document
1 In this Order, refugee travel document means a travel document issued under the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, signed at Geneva on July 28, 1951, and the Protocol to that Convention, signed at New York on January 31, 1967.
Remission and Conditions
Urgent return to Canada
2 (1) Remission is granted to any person who meets the conditions set out in subsection (2) of the fees paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for the services set out in any of items 9, 10 and 14 of the schedule to those Regulations and under section 4 of the Consular Services Fees Regulations.
Conditions
(2) The remission is granted on the following conditions:
- (a) during the period beginning on January 31, 2020 and ending on July 31, 2020, the person, or a person acting on their behalf, made an application for an emergency travel document or a passport; and
- (b) that person, or the person acting on their behalf, confirmed that the person for whom the application was made needed to return to Canada urgently as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Urgent travel
3 (1) Remission is granted to any person who meets the conditions set out in subsection (2) of the fees paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations for the services set out in any of items 3 to 8, 14 and 15 of the schedule to those Regulations and under section 4 of the Consular Services Fees Regulations.
Conditions
(2) The remission is granted on the following conditions:
- (a) during the period beginning on March 18, 2020 and ending on July 31, 2020, the person, or a person acting on their behalf, made, in Canada, an application for a certificate of identity, refugee travel document or passport;
- (b) that person, or the person acting on their behalf, confirmed that the person for whom the application was made urgently needed to travel as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;
- (c) that person, or the person acting on their behalf, requested an expedited service; and
- (d) the fees in question have not been remitted under section 11 of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations.
EXPLANATORY NOTE
(This note is not part of the Order.)
Proposal
The Administrator in Council, on the recommendation of the Treasury Board, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act, has made the Certain Fees in Respect of Travel Document Services and Consular Services (COVID-19 Pandemic) Remission Order (the Remission Order).
Objective
The purpose of the Remission Order is to remit fees relating to the urgent issuance and expedited delivery of passports and other travel documents for
- Canadians abroad returning to Canada urgently as a result of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic; and
- those in Canada who were seeking to travel urgently for reasons related to the pandemic, including the illness or death of a family member abroad, to take part in an aid organization’s humanitarian operation, or if they had other imminent travel needs (e.g. to provide services deemed essential).
The Remission Order applies to fees paid or payable (including administrative and consular services fees) for urgent or expedited travel document issuance abroad between January 31 and July 31, 2020 (to cover the period during which Canadians abroad were urged to return, starting with the evacuation of Canadians from Wuhan, China), and for urgent travel document services in Canada between March 18 and July 31, 2020 (to cover the period during which domestic passport services were reduced). The total foregone revenue associated with this Remission Order is $777,900.
Background
On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak as an international public health emergency. Soon after, the Minister of Foreign Affairs announced the evacuation of Canadians from Wuhan, China. In the following weeks, the Prime Minister urged all Canadians abroad to return to Canada. These measures were announced due to the increasing severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. As flights were limited, some individuals without valid travel documents had to obtain travel document services on an urgent basis. To help ease the stress and economic burden on Canadians abroad seeking to return to Canada, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced that emergency travel document and temporary passport services fees would not be collected from Canadians abroad requesting travel documents to return to Canada urgently. The validity of the regular passport, which is issued to temporary passport clients upon their return to Canada, was limited to one year and was also issued without charge.
As of March 18, 2020, to support containment efforts and for the protection of staff, the Passport Program scaled down operations to process applications in Canada for urgent travel reasons only. While the Government urged all Canadians to stay home, there were citizens, permanent residents, and refugees in Canada with legitimate and urgent reasons for travel. This includes persons who needed to travel for medical reasons where treatment was provided abroad, persons who needed to tend to the serious illness or death of someone they knew, persons who would have financial problems from the loss of a job or business if unable to travel (not including any financial losses related to travel expenses or airfare), or persons who travelled to support an essential service, or for humanitarian reasons. Not collecting travel document fees, expedited processing and administrative fees for this category of applicants was a compassionate gesture to help them attend to certain essential needs abroad. Documents were issued with a limited validity of one year and were issued without charge. Applicants were still able to request a 5- or 10-year passport, but only expedited processing and administrative fees were waived in those cases.
Remitting fees for urgent travel document services for Canadians abroad aligns with the Government’s recommendations with respect to COVID-19, helping to alleviate the financial burden associated with returning to Canada quickly. The remission of passport and travel document service fees in relation to applications submitted in Canada is compassionate in nature, narrow in focus and in line with the Government’s guidance.
Implications
General implications
A remission order is required to extinguish any debt which exists in relation to fees that were not collected, but remain payable to the Crown, or to repay fees paid to the Crown, when doing so is deemed to be in the public interest (see subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act).
While the special measures taken by the Government assisted individuals whose lives were affected by the pandemic, certain unpaid fees remain legally payable under relevant regulations, and certain paid fees must be refunded to affected individuals. Pursuant to subsection 23(2.1) of the Financial Administration Act, the present Remission Order will remit the following:
- the fees with respect to Canadian passports and other travel documents issued in Canada and abroad, including emergency travel documents, temporary passports, certificates of identity, and refugee travel documents, paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations; footnote 1
- the fees for urgent or expedited processing of Canadian passport and other travel document service requests in Canada, paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Services Fees Regulations;
- the fees for administrative services associated with the issuance of Canadian passports and other travel documents in Canada and abroad, paid or payable under subsection 2(1) of the Passport and Other Travel Document Fees Regulations; and
- the consular services fee that is levied on all adult passports and travel documents, paid or payable under section 4 of the Consular Services Fees Regulations.
Individuals applying from abroad must have made their application for a passport or other travel document during the period beginning on January 31, 2020 (the day after the declaration made by the WHO), and ending on July 31, 2020. Individuals applying from within Canada must have made their application for a passport or other travel document during the period beginning on March 18, 2020, and ending on July 31, 2020 (to cover the period during which domestic passport services were reduced).
Financial implications
| Document replaced / service provided | Volume | Fees | Total foregone revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult emergency travel document | 159 | $50 | $7,950 |
| Child emergency travel document | 42 | $30 | $1,260 |
| Temporary passport | 184 | $110 | $20,240 |
| Urgent service | 4 570 | $110 | $502,700 |
| Express service | 3 969 | $50 | $198,450 |
| Pick up service | 938 | $20 | $18,760 |
| Call-back service (if office needs to open outside normal business hours to meet client’s urgent need for a passport) | 9 | $335 | $3,015 |
| Lost or stolen travel document fee | 125 | $45 | $5,625 |
| File transfer fee | 345 | $45 | $15,525 |
| Consular services fee (collected with adult travel document fee) | 175 | $25 | $4,375 |
| TOTAL | N/A | N/A | $777,900 |
Gender-based analysis plus (GBA+)
The Remission Order is not expected to have any disproportionate gender or diversity impacts. The remission of fees relating to urgent travel document issuance recognizes the vulnerability of all individuals affected by COVID-19, and was applied in respect of requests made by any eligible applicant. The measure was intended to relieve a financial burden, irrespective of gender, race, ethnicity, religion, or other demographic category. However, to qualify for the remission, those affected must have demonstrated that their need for urgent travel document services was due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Accountability
All remissions associated with the Remission Order will be reported by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in the Public Accounts, as required by subsection 24(2) of the Financial Administration Act. In order to be eligible for these measures, eligible applicants were required to confirm they needed to return to Canada urgently as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic or travel urgently as a result of COVID-19.
Consultation
The Privy Council Office, the Treasury Board Secretariat, Finance Canada, Global Affairs Canada and the Department of Justice were consulted on this Remission Order. No issues or concerns were raised about the remission of these fees.
Contact
Danielle Johnston
Acting Director
Passport Program Policy
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
180 Kent Street, 8th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 1L1
Canada
Telephone: 613‑291‑1654