'Inadmissible' foreign nationals to pay more upon return to Canada: CBSA

A Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) patch is seen on an officer in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh)

Foreign nationals who refuse or are unable to pay their own way home after being denied stay in Canada will soon face steeper financial penalties should they ever attempt to return.

According to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officials, the fee framework has been updated for the first time since 1993 and will go into effect this April.

Visitors deemed inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act will still be required to pay their own departure travel costs, but the Canadian government will continue to intervene when necessary and cover the costs to ensure prompt deportation.

The reimbursement of the travel costs will jump considerably this spring and give no consideration to the departee's destination. Previously, inadmissible foreign nationals would be required to pay approximately $1,500 upon their subsequent attempt to return to Canada. That fee will soon become slightly more than $3,800 for those who leave the country unescorted and just over $12,800 for those escorted by Canadian officials.

The CBSA says costs associated with removal of a person deemed inadmissible may include purchasing airline tickets, conducting removal interviews, obtaining travel documents, making removal arrangements, case management, partnership and liaison work.

"This update in cost recovery for the removal of inadmissible foreign nationals brought forward by the CBSA builds on our plan to strengthen border security and our immigration system," Minister of Public Safety David J. McGuinty said in a statement released Friday.

"In recent months, we re-imposed a Visa requirement on Mexican visitors, aligned the hours of service between Canada and U.S. at many ports of entry, and ended flagpoling for work and study permits at the border, keeping 70,000 non-residents from entering the U.S. The security partnership between Canada and the United States has been keeping people on both sides of the border safe for decades – and we'll always be looking for ways to further strengthen it."

The CBSA says it recovers nearly $500,000 each year in removal costs from foreign nationals who apply to return. More than 14,000 inadmissible foreign nationals were removed from Canada over the first 10 months of 2024.