Canada’s new asylum regulations took effect Nov. 3, giving claimants whose cases qualify for referral 60 days to submit complete applications and required documents, as the government seeks clearer requirements and timely decisions.
Claimants with eligible cases may request a one-time extension of 30 days. The regulations cover claims made at ports of entry as well as those started from within Canada. People applying from inside the country first record their intention to seek asylum through the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Portal, then meet an officer in person to make a formal claim.
Before an eligible case reaches the IRB, security partners will review it for security, criminality, admissibility and program integrity. IRCC says the reviews have a time limit, but the announcement did not state its length.
The rules also clarify how withdrawn claims may be reinstated and how officials should handle claims found not to have been abandoned. They set out when vulnerable claimants need designated representatives and what those representatives are responsible for. IRCC said the current approach to work permits is now permanent, allowing eligible claimants to access permits after submitting a complete claim. Unaccompanied minors are excepted from the new ineligibility rules. The one-year ineligibility rule also exempts people who register online and state that they intend to seek asylum during their first year in Canada.
IRCC reported that claims submitted from January through August 2026 were 52% below the same period in 2025 and 68% below the same period in 2024. Those comparisons cover months before the new regulations took effect.
The June proposal said the government was responding to concerns from stakeholders that claims could stall during government reviews without a deadline. It also said a prior requirement for immigration and border officers to schedule IRB hearings had fallen out of use in 2018 amid high claim volumes and long waits. The proposal estimated government costs at $14,031,338 in present value over 2026-35.
IRCC said the final regulations were scheduled for publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II, on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
