CIMM – Management of Expired and Cancelled Visas – October 21, 2025

Key Messages

Prior to Arrival

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) screens all foreign nationals who require a visa or electronic travel authorization in order to travel to Canada.

In Canada

• Upon arrival in Canada, travellers are screened again by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), who need to authorize their entry to Canada. As with all foreign nationals who enter Canada, international students entering the country are recorded by the CBSA. CBSA also collects exit information in both land and air modes. At land border crossings, Canada receives biographic entry data from U.S. authorities to create exit records. For air travel, exit data is collected directly from air carriers via passenger manifests. While entry records are systematically captured, exit data is more limited and varies by mode of travel. IRCC is able to access CBSA entry and exit data on a case by case basis to support the administration of the immigration and citizenship programs.
• Temporary residents are required to leave Canada once their authorized period of stay ends. Persons who do not take steps to legally maintain their temporary resident status in Canada and fall out of status are in contravention of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and are subject to enforcement action, including arrest and removal from Canada, which is led by CBSA.
• CBSA prioritizes removal of persons based on risk. Highest priority cases are those related to security of Canada, organized crime, crimes against humanity and other criminality. This prioritization applies to all immigration streams including workers and students.

Key Facts and Figures

• Under our managed migration system, temporary resident visas (TRVs) are subject to a high degree of scrutiny which is reflected in approval rates. As of August 31, 2025, approval rates for temporary resident applications were:
  • 49% for temporary resident visas (889K TRVs approved).
  • 55% for work permits (175K work permits approved)
  • 42% for study permits (86K study permits approved).
• The 2025 year-to-date global temporary resident visa refusal rate is 51%. This is in comparison to a 50% refusal rate for the same period in 2024, and a 39% refusal rate for all of 2023. The vast majority of temporary resident visa applications are refused because an officer was not satisfied the applicant would leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay.
• The Department is also placing more emphasis on detecting fraud. Misrepresentation refusals come with a 5-year ban from entering Canada which discourages non-genuine applicants going forward.
• Once in Canada, temporary residents who actively seek to maintain their status have relatively high approval rates. As of August 31, 2025, approval rates for in-Canada renewals were:
  • 91% for visitor visas (127K visitor renewals approved);
  • 92% work permit renewals (509K work permit renewals approved); and
  • 94% for study permit renewals (157K study permit extensions approved).

Visa Integrity Measures

• Canada welcomes around 20M visitors each year who provide the country with significant social, cultural and economic benefits. Unfortunately, we have also seen a rise in misuse of visitor visas as a short cut by people who want to remain long-term.
• Although the vast majority of visitors are legitimate, we know non-genuine visitors have an impact on the confidence of Canadians in the immigration system. It is essential that we balance the economic and cultural benefits of visitors with the need to ensure migration to Canada is well-managed.
• Securing the border and the perimeter starts at the point of document issuance and before someone reaches Canada. IRCC is working with partners to strengthen our visitor screening to ensure we are adapting to modern changes, including global crises that affect migration patterns, increased digital fraud, and organized human smuggling.
• For example, Canada implemented a partial visa requirement for Mexican nationals in February 2024, after identifying an abuse of visa-free travel and a significant number of non-genuine asylum claims. This resulted in an almost immediate reduction of asylum claims from Mexican citizens at Canadian airports nationwide.
• On January 31, 2025, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) were amended to include discretionary cancellation authorities which specify when an officer may cancel a TRV, electronic travel authorization (eTA), work permit or study permit, on a case by case basis, strengthening the consistency and overall integrity of the cancellation process.
• Under a renewed effort to detect fraud, the total number of applications refused for misrepresentation has increased significantly in the last year. 5.8% of all TRV refusals were for misrepresentation in August 2025, a higher rate than August 2024 (4.9%) and the overall average rate for 2024 (4.6%).
• For travellers who are visa-exempt and who must apply for an eTA to visit Canada, IRCC will continue to strengthen the integrity of our screening through information sharing with international partners on eTA applicants.
• Information sharing allows the Department to more accurately verify the identity of travelers and make better-informed immigration and border decisions, while facilitating the travel of known individuals to Canada.
• CBSA also sought amendments to the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) that came into force on March 15, 2024 and that provide for the automatic cancellation of Electronic Travel Authorizations (eTAs), Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) and Temporary Resident Permits (TRPs) after a foreign national (FN) who is in Canada is found inadmissible and is issued a removal order.  This ensures that these documents are not re-used for entering Canada after receiving the removal order.

Strengthening Document Control (Mass Authorities)

• Legislative amendments to IRPA contained in Bill C-12 are currently at second reading in the House of Commons. The proposed amendments would:
  • Allow the Governor in Council to issue an Order in Council to mass cancel, suspend, or vary immigration documents; cancel and suspend immigration applications for these documents; and stop application intake for reasons determined to be in the public interest;
  • Provide officers the authority to examine document holders outside Canada for the purposes of carrying out the terms of an Order; and,
  • Include authorities to make regulations that would allow an officer, on a case-by-case basis, to cancel, suspend or vary an immigration document or cancel an immigration application in prescribed circumstances. This would also include authorities for officers to examine document holders outside of Canada, in prescribed circumstances.
• These authorities aim to increase the Government of Canada’s control over immigration documents and application intake to ensure that we are able to respond swiftly to events that could undermine the management of migration into Canada, the safety of Canadians, and our relationships with key international partners.

Status in Canada

• IRCC is responsible for processing applications to extend temporary resident status in Canada, including applications to restore temporary resident status. Restoration allows eligible applicants to regain their temporary resident status, as long as they apply for it within 90 days of losing their status.
• Individuals are expected to comply with the conditions of their entry into Canada, including leaving by the end of their authorized period of stay.
• Foreign nationals who do not maintain their temporary resident status in Canada are in contravention of IRPA and may have a removal order issued against them.
• Individuals subject to removal orders are expected to leave the country on their own. If they fail to leave the country, they may be subject to enforcement action, including removal from Canada.
• CBSA’s Inland Enforcement Officers undertake proactive investigations in order to identify and locate inadmissible individuals. Investigations are triaged ensuring high risk cases (those inadmissible on security, human rights violations, criminality and organized criminality) are prioritized.
• CBSA prioritizes removal of persons based on risk. Highest priority cases are those related to security of Canada, organized crime, crimes against humanity and other criminality. These are followed by failed refugee claimants as the second tier, and all other inadmissible persons as the remaining priority.
• Under the 2024 Border Action Plan, the CBSA has committed to increase the number of removals to a total of 20,000 this fiscal and next. The CBSA is currently on pace to remove approximately 22,000 people this fiscal year.
• Persons who fail to legally maintain their status may also jeopardize their future admission to Canada.

Temporary Resident Visas (TRVs) versus Status and Status Documents

• TRVs are immigration documents that IRCC places in a person’s passport or travel document to show that an applicant has been assessed by an IRCC officer, who is satisfied that they meet the requirements needed to travel to Canada.
• TRVs have a validity period; when this period ends the holder must apply for a new TRV before being able to travel to Canada. TRVs that are cancelled also cannot be used to travel to Canada.
• The TRV does not provide status in Canada; only CBSA, after examining a traveller upon arrival in Canada, may authorize entry as a temporary resident. At that point, the person has temporary resident “status,” which may be renewed on application to IRCC from within Canada.
• Status documents are also immigration documents but are not the same as a TRV; for example, work or study permits are issued to persons authorized to work or study in Canada. Status documents cannot be used to travel to Canada like a TRV.
• Biometrics are valid for 10 years. Unless exempt from the biometrics requirement under IRPA, a foreign national must have valid (unexpired) biometrics on file for the duration of their visa or permit. Clients may need to re-enroll their biometrics at application stage if they wish to be granted a visa or permit beyond the expiry date of their current biometrics on file.