Fees for examinations

This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.

The responsibility for fees associated with examinations has been transferred to CBSA.

There are two types of fees associated with examinations:

After-hours examination (in Canada) - R312

Processing and collection of fee:

  • $100 for 4 hours; and
  • $30 for each additional or part hour after 4 hours

No fee exemptions have been identified for this service.

Responsibility for this fee has been transferred to the CBSA.

The processing fee for “after-hours examination” services at ports of entry should not alter the way after-hour immigration secondary examinations are conducted at any port of entry. Ports of entry should continue to operate in their normal manner, and after-hours examination fees should be collected as outlined in these guidelines.

Criteria for the collection of fee

Collection of a processing fee shall be applied at ports of entry where an Immigration presence is not available on a 24-hour basis. The fee will be applied:

  1. to persons seeking entry when travelling by private vehicle; and
  2. to transportation companies when public transportation is used by persons seeking entry into Canada.

Persons seeking entry will be subject to the after-hours examination processing fee when the service is requested by the client, and not by the inspection services (i.e., customs).

Persons seeking entry either by private carrier or by transportation companies carrying persons identified as requiring immigration secondary examinations will be subject to the processing fee for after hours examination if the following two conditions are present:

  • the arrival at the port of entry by the individual or transportation vehicle must be an unscheduled arrival; and
  • overtime must be incurred by the Immigration examining officer.

Several ports of entry offer immigration services with a presence 16 hours per day, 7 days per week. After-hour service is provided on an after-hours examination basis by immigration officers listed on a standby roster.

Customs officers are responsible for the primary inspection services. During their examination of persons seeking entry into Canada, they are responsible for the identification of individuals who require secondary examination by an Immigration officer.

Once a Customs officer has referred an individual to immigration secondary examination, the options available to the individual seeking entry to Canada will be carefully explained.

The options include:

  • withdrawal of the individual’s request to enter Canada and return to the country of departure (this would only be applicable at land border sites where the traveller is coming from the U.S.A.);
  • wait in the Customs/Immigration reception area until the next scheduled immigration officer reports for duty (this would usually be around 8:00 a.m. as most ports with 16-hour service offer immigration presence during the hours 8:00 a.m.12:00 midnight);
  • request that an immigration officer listed on a standby roster be called back to perform the immigration secondary examination.

Should the traveller choose to request an officer to conduct the immigration secondary examination, the Customs officer on duty shall give the individual a copy of an information sheet outlining the hours of immigration service at that port of entry and the cost recovery fee associated with calling back an immigration officer. Each port of entry will be responsible for developing their own sheet with applicable information. The Customs officer will also witness the applicant’s signature on this information sheet and ensure that the individual has sufficient funds or credit card available to pay the fee. At this point, the Customs officer will telephone the designated officer.

The fee shall be collected by the immigration officer who has been called back to perform the immigration secondary examination, prior to beginning the examination interview. A receipt will be given to the applicant and indication made that payment has been made by notating the fee and receipt number in the appropriate box on the Immigration Cost Recovery Control form (IMM 5194B).

No refund of this fee will be given once the immigration officer has reported to the port of entry to conduct the secondary examination.

Upon arrival at the port of entry, should the client seeking entry to Canada refuse to pay the required fee for after-hours examination, the secondary examination will be deferred until such time as the client pays the fee. Should the client continue to refuse to pay the fee, they will be advised to withdraw their request and return to their country of origin, or wait for continuation of their examination when the officer on the next scheduled shift reports for duty.

In cases where individuals have travelled by a mode of public transit (train, airplane, bus, etc.) and the arrival of the public transportation vehicle was unscheduled, and where the port of entry had not been advised of the unscheduled arrival in order to make alternate staffing arrangements, the transportation company, and not the individuals, will be required to pay the processing fee. The fee to be collected is assessed as if only one after-hours examination service were being provided. Individual passengers may be subject to charges applicable on a case-by-case basis.

During the interview by a Customs officer, if an applicant advises that they are unable or unwilling to pay the fee immediately, they should be counselled to return when there is an immigration officer on duty, or when they have the ability and willingness to pay the processing fee. There is no authority to provide the after-hours examination service if the individual has not demonstrated the ability to pay the required fee.

If the client demonstrated that they had the ability to pay the fee, and they completed the Immigration Cost Recovery Information form (described earlier) requesting that an immigration officer be called back to perform the immigration secondary examination, but upon arrival at the port of entry of the officer, they decided not to comply with the fee requirement, no examination would be conducted. The individual would be advised to return to the country of origin.

Alternative means of examination - R313

Processing and collection of fee:

$30 per person. As per R294, fees are payable per person and not per application

No fee exemptions have been identified for this service.

Responsibility for this fee has been transferred to the CBSA.

About the Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) permit

In 1992, a service was introduced whereby persons seeking to enter Canada may request and be considered for permits that allow varying methods of reporting their entry.

Possession of a valid RABC permit allows the bearer to cross the border without reporting to a port of entry as long as all imported goods are declared.

This service is available only along the international border between Ontario and Manitoba from Pigeon River to and including Lake of the Woods and to the Canadian shore of Lake Superior from Pigeon River to Terrace Bay.

The RABC permit is available to Canadian and U.S. citizens and persons temporarily resident in cottages within 100 km (62 miles) of the Canada/U.S. border, and to Canadian and U.S. tourists to the area who use the border waterways for recreational purposes.

Processing and collection of fee

A fee shall be collected each time a request for a RABC permit is processed. Payments are recorded by coding the appropriate box of the document issued.

If an individual advises that they are unable or unwilling to pay the fee immediately, they should be advised to withdraw their application and re-apply when they have the ability and willingness to do so.

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