Canadian Passports Will Soon be Free if They Take More Than 30 Days to Process

Right now, the average time for processing a passport is between 10 and 20 days, depending on how you apply.  

The new policy has long been expected following an announcement in March 2025 and was set to launch last summer. Which begs the question, who is getting the refund for the months long delay?

Starting April 1, passport applications will be processed within 30 business days or they’ll be free.

No application. No uncertainty. Just the refund you deserve.#30DaysOrItsFree pic.twitter.com/3krXsheWBI

— Lena Metlege Diab (@LenaMetlegeDiab) March 4, 2026

Passports are now the only IRCC issued document with a refund guarantee, which is probably a good thing for the department given that there are currently over a million permanent resident, temporary resident, and citizenship grant applications still in backlog (backlog means applications that have not been processed within service standards). 

Price Increase for new applications

While there is now a chance of getting some money back, IRCC has also increased the price for new passport applications. Starting March 31, anyone applying for a new passport will be paying a little bit more. It’s the first increase since 2023. IRCC says the current fees are not sufficient to keep up with the cost of delivering passport services to Canadians. 

The increase is not significant for those not applying in a rush. Most fees range from a $1.50 increase to $6. However, they jump as much as $48.50 for anyone who needs urgent processing on a weekend or statutory holiday. Other urgent processing fees generally go up by $15. 

Why Get a Canadian Passport?  

Permanent residents applying for citizenship, and new Canadian citizens, might be on the fence about if they should get a Canadian passport. Obviously, it’s a personal choice but, in terms of freedom to travel to other countries without a visa, you could do worse.  

The most recent Henley Passport Index shows that Canada (tied with six other countries) has the 7th strongest passport in the world with visa-free access to 182 countries. Singapore took the top spot at 192. 

Passports are also an important identity document. If you don’t have a driver’s license, you should be able to use a Canadian passport anytime you are asked for photo ID. New citizens can use it as identification when they vote for the first time in a Canadian election. 

Stay in the know on all the updates to Canada’s passport program, backlogs, processing times and more by joining the Moving2Canada community.