Program directory · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Asylum
- Program code
- BGE06 (CI)
- Core responsibility
- Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
IRCC is accountable for overall delivery of the in-Canada asylum system by which foreign nationals may seek protection from within Canada. An individual can make a claim for protection to either the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) at a port of entry, or to IRCC or CBSA at an inland office. Officers assess whether a claimant is eligible to make a claim and, if so, the claim is referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). The IRB is an independent administrative tribunal that determines the validity of every claim. A positive decision leads to “protected person” status and the possibility of applying for permanent residence. Protected persons are entitled to receive settlement services as available under IRCC’s Settlement Program, and are eligible for temporary health-care coverage. A negative decision leads to various appeal mechanisms. Once appeals are exhausted, individuals are given 30 days to leave Canada voluntarily. After this period, failed claimants are removed from Canada. In most cases, a pre-removal risk assessment is conducted to ensure claimants are not removed to face persecution, danger of torture or risk to life. Canada also provides funding to trusted organizations (such as the International Organization for Migration) to help address and prevent illegal organized human-smuggling operations. Funding may also be provided to transit states to support the interception of known operations before individuals can reach Canada and claim protection.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asylum | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $6.16B |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | Employees (FTEs) 650, against 502 in 2018-19 (+29%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2019-20 | Spending $566M, against $165M in 2018-19 (+244%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Employees (FTEs) 783, against 650 in 2019-20 (+20%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators added: Percentage of eligibility decisions that are processed within 30 days of claim received | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2020-21 | Indicators dropped: Percentage of asylum claims made in Canada that are referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada within service standards | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Spending $904M, against $404M in 2021-22 (+124%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2023 | Budget 2023 measure “Healthcare Support for Asylum Claimants and Refugees”: $469M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2023, PDF page 168 |
| 2023-24 | Spending $1.39B, against $904M in 2022-23 (+54%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024 | Budget 2024 measure “Sheltering Asylum Claimants”: $1,076M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2024, PDF page 99 |
| 2024 | Budget 2024 measure “Healthcare Support for Asylum Claimants and Refugees”: $411M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2024, PDF page 276 |
| 2024 | Budget 2024 measure “Temporary Lodging for Asylum Claimants”: $141M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2024, PDF page 276 |
| 2024-25 | Spending $2.29B, against $1.39B in 2023-24 (+64%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025 | Budget 2025 measure “Temporary Lodging for Asylum Claimants”: $67M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2025, PDF page 282 |
| 2025 | Budget 2025 measure “Healthcare Support for Asylum Claimants and Refugees”: $1,009M in total over its years (linked to this program by name, a best-effort match). | Budget 2025, PDF page 282 |
| 2025-26 | Planned spending $1.15B, against $2.29B in 2024-25 (−50%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2026-27 | Planned employees (FTEs) 1,455, against 1,022 in 2025-26 (+42%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Percentage of Protected Persons in Canada and dependents abroad who obtained permanent resident status by the end of the current year, in relation to those who had a pending permanent resident applications as of December 31 of the previous year | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Total number of permanent resident admissions of Protected Persons in Canada and Dependents Abroad | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned employees (FTEs) 1,114, against 1,455 in 2026-27 (−23%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2027-28 | Planned spending $228M, against $888M in 2026-27 (−74%). | Latest Departmental Plan |
| 2028-29 | Planned employees (FTEs) 830, against 1,114 in 2027-28 (−25%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | — | — | 0.6% Despite eligibility decisions not being processed on time, once a claim is received, an Acknowledgement of Claim letter is issued to the claimant, which can be used to access social services. At this stage claimants are also eligible for Interim Federal Health Program coverage. Please note that this is a new indicator as of 2020-21 and historical data is not available thus this result cannot be c… | No result reported |
| 2021-22 | — | — | 3.8% Refugee Intake has mandatory in-person components, such as biometrics collection. While offices implemented a virtual process for some processing, authorized overtime to staff, utilized resources from other lines of business and examined potential efficiencies that could be gained by utilizing technology, performance on this indicator did not reach the internal objective in 2021-22 due to office… | No result reported |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 80% | 2023 | 26% In 2022, close to 92,000 asylum claims were received, an increase of 268% compared to 2021. IRCC didn't meet the target of 80% as the asylum intake exceeded the capacity (system is founded to 50,000 claims). IRCC and CBSA continue to innovate, with a view to accelerating the inventory reduction efforts and returning to the 30 day service standard. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 80% | 2024 | 16% Following initial growth, IRCC eligibility inventory peaked and began showing a downward trend at the end of 2023-24 aided by a number of incremental changes, such as: combining two claimant appointments into one, pre-printing routine documents for low risk claims, reallocating resources from other asylum lines of business to refugee intake, and more efficient utilization of office space for in-p… | Not met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 80% | 2025 | 56% For 2024–25, 56% of eligibility decisions were processed within 30 days, which remains well below the target of 80%. However, this represents a notable increase from previous years (16% in 2023–24 and 12.4% in 2022–23), reflecting continued efforts to improve timeliness following earlier underperformance. While this upward trend is encouraging, sustained operational improvements are required to m… | Not met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 13,500 – 17,000 | 2018 | 17,682 As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Canada is obligated to hear claims for protection from foreign nationals. This indicator measures the number of former asylum-seekers who have subsequently attained permanent resident status. In 2018-2019, actual permanent resident admissions under the asylum class slightly surpassed the targeted upper range of 17,000 by 682. | Not met |
| 2019-20 | 14,000 – 20,000 | 2019 | 18,443 As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Canada is obligated to hear claims for protection from foreign nationals. This indicator measures the number of former asylum-seekers who have subsequently attained permanent resident status. In 2019, actual permanent resident admissions under asylum was at 18,443, which met the annual target to attain between 14,000-20,000 number of asylum seekers w… | Met |
| 2020-21 | 17,500 – 23,000 | 2020 | 16,250 As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Canada is obligated to hear claims for protection from foreign nationals. This indicator measures the number of former asylum-seekers who have subsequently attained permanent resident status. Due to the impact of COVID-19 and associated border and travel restrictions, in 2020, 16,250 permanent resident were admitted to Canada as protected persons, wh… | Met |
| 2021-22 | 17,000 – 25,000 | 2021 | 39,800 As a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Canada is obligated to hear claims for protection from foreign nationals. In 2021, the number of permanent resident admissions of Protected Persons significantly exceeded the target range of 17,000-25,000. This was in large part due to the departmental effort to maximize admissions of in-Canada permanent resident applicants due to impacts of the pand… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 20,000 – 27,500 | 2022 | 27,814 In 2022, IRCC met the target and reached the high-end of the target range for Protected Persons in Canada admissions. | Not met |
| 2023-24 | 22,000 – 35,000 | 2023 | 23,898 2023 results were within the target range. The digitization of paper to digital, automation of files for file promotion, ability for protected persons in Canada to submit documentation for their overseas dependents upfront with their own application for permanent residence and having previously completed a thorough costing exercise in 2021-22 to ensure the Department is properly resourced are all… | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 27,000 | 2024 | 27,400 In 2024, 27,400 protected persons and their dependents were granted permanent resident status, slightly exceeding the target of 27,000. This result suggests continued strength in Canada’s ability to process and admit protected persons, in line with its international obligations and humanitarian objectives. Performance remains consistent with high levels observed since 2021. Nonetheless, inventori… | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 97% – 97% | 2019 | 88% Under Section 100(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, IRCC must determine if an asylum claim is eligible to be heard and must refer eligible claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. In 2018-2019, the department did not meet the target of 97% but showed a marked improvement compared to 2017-2018 (88% vs. 59%), which can be partly explained by stabilizing numbers of irre… | Not met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 97% | 2020 | 32% To provide the Government greater flexibility to manage volumes at the border, the requirement to complete the eligibility assessment within three days was repealed in June 2019 as part of the Budget 2019 Implementation Act. The intent remains to determine claim eligibility as fast as possible. Once a claim is received, an acknowledgement of claim letter is issued to the claimant within three day… | Not met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 80% | 2027 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 30% | 2026 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $148M | $165M |
| 2019-20 | $421M | $566M |
| 2020-21 | $322M | $440M |
| 2021-22 | $428M | $404M |
| 2022-23 | $723M | $904M |
| 2023-24 | $582M | $1.39B |
| 2024-25 | $214M | $2.29B |
| 2025-26 | $1.15B | — |
| 2026-27 | $888M | — |
| 2027-28 | $228M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $191M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 417 | 502 |
| 2019-20 | 423 | 650 |
| 2020-21 | 891 | 783 |
| 2021-22 | 812 | 840 |
| 2022-23 | 897 | 905 |
| 2023-24 | 1,049 | 922 |
| 2024-25 | 966 | 1,003 |
| 2025-26 | 1,022 | — |
| 2026-27 | 1,455 | — |
| 2027-28 | 1,114* | — |
| 2028-29 | 830* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $147,502,423 | $86,280,071 | $84,985,582 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $421,183,873 | $100,382,191 | $101,992,845 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $321,744,154 | $127,895,001 | $118,097,604 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $427,879,345 | $495,240,497 | $125,158,222 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $722,663,204 | $163,678,150 | $145,483,441 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $582,385,304 | $212,839,061 | $197,487,147 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $214,140,412 | $188,000,007 | $184,698,217 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $1,145,717,324 | $473,923,886 | $198,764,522 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $887,872,155 | $227,848,923 | $190,620,786 | ||||||||
| Actual | $164,595,659 | $566,324,383 | $440,063,571 | $404,148,798 | $903,794,804 | $1,392,784,559 | $2,287,028,675 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
