Barkova, Lisa

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Costing Asylum Claims from Visa-Exempt Countries

Lisa Barkova

Published on May 31, 2024 PDF

In response to parliamentary interest, PBO prepared an estimate of the total costs to the federal government associated with asylum claimants who have arrived from visa-exempt countries. This report presents an average unit cost per asylum claimant, based on the costs associated with the federal government organizations involved in the asylum process.

Highlights

Since 2017, the first full year of Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) implementation, the number of asylum claimants increased by 185% (with an average annual increase of 49%). At the same time, the proportion of asylum claimants whose last approved temporary resident application was an eTA has increased from 7% (3,500) in 2017 to an all-time high of 21% (19,155) in 2022 and reaching 19% (27,035) in 2023.
PBO estimates that the average cost for each asylum claimant arriving with an eTA over the entire asylum claim process, which can span multiple fiscal years, is $16,500 in 2024.
Accounting for organizational capacities, the cost associated with claimants who have arrived in Canada with an eTA before January 1st, 2024, but who have not received the final decision is estimated to be $455 million over the 5-year processing period. This excludes all claims made after that date, for which decisions (and costs) will also be required.

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