Appendix C – Passport Subordinate Remission Policy

Passport Subordinate Remission Policy (PDF, 789 KB)

C1.1 Context

The Service Fees Act sets out the requirement for fee remissions to compensate fee payers in cases where services do not meet established service standards. It is up to each responsible department to establish and implement, in accordance with the Treasury Board policies and directives, policies and procedures that define when service standards are considered not met for the purposes of remission, and determine the remission amounts to be made in such cases.

C1.2 Purpose

The purpose of this operational policy is to:

explain the Passport Program’s service standards
identify those situations that will be excluded from the remission requirement
outline the remission scale for passport and travel document processing fees
explain the remission process

This document is to be read in conjunction with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Departmental Remission Policy Pursuant to the Service Fees Act.

C1.3 Policy Effective Date

This policy takes effect April 1, 2021.

C1.4 Affected Fees

This policy applies to passport and travel document processing fees, whether the application was submitted in person or by mail, in Canada or abroad, for adults or children.

Name	Fee^{Footnote **}
Adult 5-year passport domestic^{Footnote *}	$120
Adult 10-year passport domestic^{Footnote *}	$160
Child regular passport domestic	$57
Adult 5-year passport abroad^{Footnote *}	$190
Adult 10-year passport abroad^{Footnote *}	$260
Child regular passport abroad	$100
Temporary passport fee	$110
Adult Refugee Travel Document^{Footnote *}	$120
Adult Certificate of identity^{Footnote *}	$260

The following fees will be excluded from this policy based on the Low-materiality fees regulations for the Service Fees Act.

Name	Fee
Pick up fee	$20
Child emergency travel document fee	$30
Child Refugee Travel Document	$57
Replacement fee	$45
Certified True Copy fee	$45
File transfer fee	$45
Retention fee – abroad	$45
Addition of special stamp fee	$45
Addition of observation in passport fee	$45
Adult Emergency Travel Document fee	$75
Child Certificate of Identity	$141

The following fees will also be excluded from this policy as they are administrative fees that are managed outside of the Service Fees Act. The Passport Program refunds these fees directly to the client on-site in the event that the service standard is not met.

Name	Fee
Urgent	$110
Express	$50
Call-back	$335

C1.5 Service Standards

The Passport Program’s service standards indicate the level of performance that clients can expect to receive under normal circumstances. These standards apply only to fully complete applications, and include time from when the duly completed application is received by the Program to when the travel document is mailed to the client or made available for pick-up. The time to mail passports to clients domestically and to missions abroad is not included in the calculation of the service standard. Additionally, the service standard does not apply for applications that are withdrawn by the client, or that result in the refusal of passport services.

The time an application is on hold is not included in the service standard calculation. An application will be changed to pending status in the following situations:

A Passport or Travel Document (TD) application, which has been accepted for processing, may on further review require additional information or documents from the applicant. The application would be put on hold status until the missing information or document is received.
Passport or TD applications that are considered complex and thus require additional review. These applications will be put on pending status while IRCC is making a determination regarding the application. The reasons for referral include, but are not limited to:
1. applications to replace lost, stolen, damaged or mutilated travel documents; or
2. Passport and TD application for a child that is subject, to an adoption process or is partially or fully in the care of a provincial or territorial family services organization in Canada; or
3. Passport and TD application for a child that is subject to separation agreements, court orders or legal proceedings pertaining to custody of, mobility of, or access to the child; or
4. other files referred per existing policies and procedures for review.

C1.6 Remission Rules

C1.6.1 Remission Calculation Methodology for Passport Travel Document applications

In cases where the service standard is not met, clients will be refunded a portion of the fee paid. This amount is based on the proportion by which the standard has not been met.

The impact to the fee payer is determined to be correlated to the amount of time outside a service standard that the product or service is delivered. Taking into consideration that the product or service is ultimately received, remissions at IRCC shall not exceed 50%. The proportion of the fee remitted will correspond to the following two tiers established proportionally to the shortest service standard of eligible fees:

Remission Tier	Days over service standard
25% of fee paid^{Footnote *}	1-10 days
50% of fee paid^{Footnote *}	11 + business days

In the event that a client experiences severe financial loss as a result of a service standard not being achieved clients can consult the Guide to Claims. Clients should be aware that any claim against the Crown must be net of a remission received.

C1.7 Remission Process

Remissions will be automatically issued by the Department in accordance with the Service Fees Act and the Directive of Charging and Special Financial Authorities. Remissions will be completed on a regular basis throughout the year and all remissions will be completed before July 1^st of the following fiscal year (April 1^st to March 31^st).

Clients who may be entitled to a remission are not required to apply for one. All applications and processing times are monitored by the Passport Program, and remissions will be initiated automatically.

The fee remission will be issued to the client based on the latest client information available to the Program.

C1.8 Exclusions

This Remission Policy does not apply for applications processed in unusual or exceptional circumstances that may impact regular operations, result in an unforeseeable and significant influx of applications, or result in loss of staff, loss of facility (partial or full), or loss of communications or network capabilities.

Departmental exclusions can be found in the Departmental Remission Policy which should be read in conjunction with this document.

C1.9 Enquiries

Enquiries on remission eligibility or in regards to this subordinate remissions policy should be sent to the general enquiries webform for passports obtained within Canada.

For Passports obtained abroad, enquiries on remission eligibility or in regards to this subordinate remissions policy should be directed IRCC.PPTREFUNDS-REMBOUSEMENTS@cic.gc.ca.

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