The cost of Canadian passports will increase starting March 31—prices will rise by 2.7%, in line with the consumer price index for April 2024.
The decision was made at the end of January by government order and stipulates that passport prices will be automatically adjusted for inflation in the future.
For those applying for a travel document in Canada, a five-year passport will cost $123.24, and a ten-year passport will cost $164.32. If the application is submitted from abroad, a ten-year passport will cost $267.02.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said this is only the first step. In an accompanying document, the agency noted that the current fee structure no longer covers the program's costs.
Since the last inflation adjustment, the consumer price index has risen by 14.5%, resulting in an excess of costs over revenues of approximately $121 million in fiscal year 2024-25.
The agency said it is conducting a comprehensive review of the fee structure, which could lead to further adjustments.
Currently, about 85% of actual costs are not included in the price of a passport, including employee salaries, internal document processing costs, and information technology costs. The document does not specify what the final price might be, taking into account all costs.
Demand and delays
Between January and November 2025, the government received 4.19 million applications and issued about 4.02 million passports and other travel documents.
After a surge in demand in 2022, when COVID restrictions were eased, the government faced long queues and delays. The situation subsequently improved, but between January 31, 2023, and March 31, 2025, the government refunded $40 million due to failure to meet service standards.
Under current rules, if a document is issued with a delay of one to 10 days beyond the established deadline, 25% of the cost is refunded, and if the delay exceeds 11 days, 50% is refunded.
Between March 31 and November 30, 2025, another 5,478 refunds were issued for a total of nearly $315,000. During this time, 22,063 regular passports took longer than 30 days to process.
Promise of a free passport
In March last year, then-Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Terry Beach promised that if a passport was not issued within 30 working days, it would be free of charge.
Almost a year has passed, but this promise has not yet been fulfilled. At the same time, a separate government document indicates that reimbursement of the $25 consular fee and a 100% refund for the delay may take effect on April 1, 2026.
Immigration Minister Lina Diab declined to comment on the situation, and representatives of her department did not confirm whether the government plans to fulfill its promise of a full refund in case of delay.