BILL C-12 IS NOW LAW

On March 26, 2026, Bill C-12 received royal assent and has become law, strengthening Canada’s immigration and asylum systems in 4 key areas:

New eligibility requirements for asylum claims

Asylum claims made more than one year after someone’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, won’t be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), regardless of whether the person has since left and returned.

Asylum claims from people who enter Canada between ports of entry along the Canada–US land border and who make a claim after 14 days won’t be referred to the IRB.

Modernized asylum process

Over the coming months, Canada will improve how we receive, process and decide on asylum claims

• simplify the online application process and reduce the need to answer duplicate questions and complete multiple forms
• refer only complete and “schedule-ready” claims to the IRB to speed up decisions
• ensure that the IRB decides on claims only while the claimant is physically present in Canada, and if a claimant voluntarily returns to their country of alleged persecution before the IRB has made a decision, their claim would be considered abandoned
• remove inactive cases from the system
• speed up voluntary departures by making removal orders effective on the same day a claim is withdrawn
• help vulnerable people, like minors or those who don’t understand the process, by appointing a representative to support them during certain Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and Canada Border Services Agency proceedings

Domestic information sharing

The new authorities

allow IRCC to share identity, status and IRCC-issued documents with federal, provincial and territorial government partners through written information-sharing agreements

make it easier for IRCC to share client information between its own programs (for example, using permanent residence application data to process citizenship applications)

allow for regulations to be developed to share client information across federal departments and agencies for the purpose of co-operation

Immigration document and application authorities

When it’s in the public interest, IRCC may cancel, suspend or change a large group of immigration documents, pause application intake, or cancel or suspend application processing. “Public interest” grounds include fraud, administrative errors or concerns for public health, safety or national security. 

The authorities also allow the Government of Canada to make regulations that prescribe scenarios when officers can take similar actions, case-by-case, for example by reviewing document holders outside Canada to confirm that they remain admissible or eligible.

The authorities don’t affect asylum claims (applications for refugee protection) and don’t give the government power to grant, change or revoke status, such as permanent resident and temporary resident status.

Source: IRCC Newsroom: 2026-03-27