Canadian passport fees will go up on March 31

Canadian passport fees that haven’t risen in over a decade are set to go up at month’s end when the federal government begins to charge a price that reflects Canada’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation.

Moreover, the fee hike this year — $9 or less, depending on the service — could be followed by more in years to come as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is “in the midst of a comprehensive fee structure review” to ensure that all verified passport program costs are reflected in future adjustments.

“The Passport Program’s base fee structure alone can no longer support the cost of Program operations,” the agency wrote in a late January order to council seeking amendments to the fee regulations under the Financial Administration Act.

“Since the last time inflation was accounted for in Program fees, the CPI increased by 14.5 per cent, leading to expenditures outpacing revenues by approximately $121 million in fiscal year 2024–2025.”

Additionally, IRCC said the fees will rise annually based on the CPI listed by Statistics Canada.

Effective March 31, passport fees are subject to the Services Fees Act (SFA), a law that requires fee decreases or increases be based on inflationary changes to the CPI.

IRCC is using the 2.7 per cent benchmark from April 2024.

That means an adult’s five-year passport will jump from $120 to $123.24, while a 10-year document goes from $160 to $164.32. Canadians abroad, meanwhile, will be charged $267.02 for a decade-long passport, up from the current fee of $260.

The agency acknowledged that “clients with low incomes, families with multiple children, elderly clients, those with fixed incomes, students and youth, refugees, and vulnerable Canadian consular clients” could be impacted by the thus-far nominal changes.

IRCC already had the power under current passport regulations to apply “fee adjustment formulas” to account for the increased cost of providing external passport services, largely mailing and courier costs. But government said the formulas, introduced in 2013 and in place for a 10-year cycle, accounted for a projected inflation of just two per cent annually.

“Actual inflation over the business cycle was higher than projected,” it wrote, noting that fees have also not accounted for inflation since the cycle ended in March 2023.

IRCC also said the formulas are too limited in scope and don’t account for many of the things that are driving increased expenses related to application processing, IT and other support services.

For example, if they were applied for the soon-to-end 2025-2026 fiscal year, the agency said fees for applicants outside of Canada would have to jump by 20 per cent since that group accounts for such a small proportion compared to domestic applicants. That cohort, representing 90 to 95 per cent of all passport clients, would actually benefit from a one per cent reduction under the formula.

“Altogether, the adjustment formulas do not account for roughly 85% of the Passport Program cost of operations,” IRCC explained.

IRCC anticipates the transition will cost $59,000 this fiscal year and estimates ongoing costs of $71,000 annually.

While the IRCC was not legally required to consult the public on the amendments, it will be required for the ongoing passport program review.

National Post has contacted IRCC for comment and more information.

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