Closed: 2023 wildfires in Canada: Temporary immigration, passport and citizenship measures
Closed
The special measures to support those affected by the wildfires in Canada ended on November 30, 2023.
If your status as a visitor, student or worker has expired you have the standard 90 calendar days to apply to restore it after it expired.
Applications submitted on or before November 30, 2023
We’ll continue to process applications free of charge for:
- replacing a citizenship certificate
- replacing a passport
- replacing a valid non-Canadian travel document (certificate of identity or refugee travel document)
- replacing a permanent resident (PR) card
- replacing an immigration document
- extending or restoring your current temporary resident status
Updating your contact information
Send us a web form (opens in a new tab) .
- Complete all required fields.
Request a refund for an application you submitted
You may be eligible for a refund if you were directly affected by the wildfires and paid fees to:
- replace a lost, damaged or destroyed document
- extend or restore your temporary resident status
You applied between May 6, 2023 and June 9, 2023
If you live in a region directly affected by the wildfires, you may be eligible for a refund depending on
- what you applied for
- your province of residence
- when you applied
Province of residence eligibility periods
To be eligible for a refund, you must have applied within the dates listed for your province of residence
- Alberta: May 6, 2023 to June 9, 2023
- British Columbia: May 11, 2023 to June 9, 2023
- Ontario: May 26, 2023 to June 9, 2023
- Nova Scotia: May 28, 2023 to June 9, 2023
- New Brunswick: May 29, 2023 to June 9, 2023
- Quebec: June 1, 2023 to June 9, 2023
Eligible refunds
You can ask for a refund if you applied to replace a
- passport or travel document
- citizenship certificate
- PR card
We’ll update this page in 2024 with more information on when and how to request a refund.
You’re not eligible for a refund if you applied before June 9, 2023 to
- replace a temporary resident document (visa, study permit or work permit),
- restore your temporary resident status
- extend your temporary resident status
You applied after June 9, 2023
If you paid any of these fees, find out how to ask for a refund (opens in a new tab) .
Applications submitted on or after December 1, 2023
If you submit an application on or after December 1, 2023, you can no longer benefit from the special measures.
- You will need to pay the processing fees when you submit your application.
- If no fees are included with your application it will be returned to you.