Passport and other travel documents: Refunds for applications processed outside service standards

You may be eligible for a full refund of your passport or other travel document application fee if it took us longer than 30 business days to process your application.

The consular services fee will also be refunded. You’ll still be able to get consular assistance outside Canada if you need it.

On this page

• Who is eligible for a refund
• How refunds work
• Refunds for urgent and express services
• Fees that are not eligible for a refund
• Exceptions
• Partial refunds

Who is eligible for a refund

You’ll get a refund if your application

• took longer than 30 business days to process, and
• the processing was completed on or after April 1, 2026

The processing time for your application starts when we have all of the following:

• your application form
• photos
• all your supporting documents
• fees

The processing time does not include

• mailing time
• additional review time for complex applications
• holds on an application while we collect additional information

This policy applies to the following types of applications:

• 5-year adult passport in Canada
• 10-year adult passport in Canada
• child passport in Canada
• 5-year adult passport from abroad
• 10-year adult passport from abroad
• child passport from abroad
• temporary passport
• adult refugee travel document
• adult certificate of identity

How refunds work

You don’t have to do anything to get your refund. However, it can take some time for it to be issued. Depending on where you applied from, you may have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

How we refund applications in Canada or from the US

If you applied in-person or by mail, we’ll

• issue your refund as a cheque
• send it to the mailing address we have on file for you

If you applied online to renew your passport we’ll either

• refund the credit card you used to pay your fees, or
• issue a cheque if the refund to the card doesn’t work

If you applied for a travel document for non-Canadians by mail and paid online, we’ll either

• refund the credit card you used to pay your fees, or
• issue a cheque if the refund to the card doesn’t work

How we refund applications outside Canada or the US

We typically refund the credit card you used to pay your fees.

However, if you didn’t pay with a credit card, we’ll send your refund as an electronic funds transfer.

The consular services fee will also be refunded. You’ll still be able to get consular assistance outside Canada if you need it.

When to contact us

If your application wasn’t processed within the service standard and you haven’t received your refund by July 1 of the fiscal year after you applied, contact us to ask about your refund.

The Government of Canada’s fiscal year begins April 1 and ends March 31.

Refunds for urgent and express services

Urgent or express pick-up services have shorter timelines.

• Urgent: end of next business day
• Express: 2 to 9 business days

If we don’t meet these timelines, you may be eligible for a full refund under the Financial Administration Act.

Fees that are not eligible for a refund

These application fees are not eligible under the Service Fees Act:

• adult emergency travel document
• child emergency travel document
• child certificate of identity
• child refugee travel documents
• administrative fees, such as
  • addition of observation in passport
  • addition of special stamp
  • certified true copy
  • file transfer
  • pick up
  • retention (abroad)
  • additional administrative fee for replacing a valid lost or stolen passport

Exceptions

Refunds do not apply for applications that we process in unusual or exceptional circumstances that may impact regular operations. For more information, see the exclusions within the remission policy.

Partial refunds

The full refund amount applies to all eligible applications closed on or after April 1, 2026. If your application was closed before April 1, 2026, you may be eligible for a partial refund under the old policy.