Bill C-12 is law: what the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act changes for you
Bill C-12 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. The two asylum eligibility rules, the new power to cancel or pause groups of immigration documents and applications, and what it means if your permit has already expired.
Short answer: Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. For most people reading this, three things matter: an asylum claim made more than one year after you first entered Canada after June 24, 2020 is no longer referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board; the asylum process itself is being rebuilt; and the government can now cancel, suspend or pause groups of visas, permits and applications in the public interest.
The Act also covers border policing, maritime security, drug precursors and anti-money laundering. This article sticks to the immigration and asylum parts.
The two new asylum eligibility rules
Both apply to every claim made on or after June 3, 2025. A claim caught by either rule is not sent to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) for a hearing.
- The one-year rule: a claim made more than one year after your first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020 is not referred. It does not matter whether you had been to Canada before, or left and came back since.
- The 14-day rule: a claim made 14 days or more after entering Canada between ports of entry along the US land border is not referred.
Unaccompanied minors are exempt from both rules. In most cases, people caught by them still have access to a pre-removal risk assessment (PRRA), which protects against removal to a country where they face persecution, torture or other serious harm.
If you came as a student and your permit has expired
This is the situation we see most. Someone arrived on a study permit in 2021 or 2022, finished a diploma, held a post-graduation work permit, and is now out of status or close to it. For them, the one-year window has almost always closed: an asylum claim made now would generally not reach the IRB.
That makes asylum a poor fallback for a status problem, and an expensive one if it is filed only to buy time. Look first at the routes built for your situation: restoration of status within 90 days of losing it, maintained status if you applied before expiry, or humanitarian and compassionate grounds where there are real ties to Canada. If you genuinely fear return, that fear still matters, and the PRRA is the usual route for it.
The Safe Third Country Agreement does not change
People who claim at a Canada–US land border crossing, or within 14 days of crossing between ports, are still returned to the United States unless they fit an exception or exemption.
A modernized asylum process
The Act set up changes to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations to:
- simplify the online application and cut duplicate questions and forms;
- refer only complete, schedule-ready claims to the IRB;
- have the IRB decide claims only while the claimant is in Canada, and treat a claim as abandoned if the claimant voluntarily returns to the country they fear;
- remove inactive cases, and make removal orders effective the day a claim is withdrawn; and
- appoint representatives to support minors and people who cannot understand the process.
Those regulations came into force on November 3, 2026. Our asylum claim changes page sets out the new two-step claim, the 60-day deadline and what it means for a claim already in progress.
New powers over groups of documents and applications
When it is in the public interest, the government can now cancel, suspend or change a large group of immigration documents, such as visas, eTAs, and work and study permits, pause intake of applications, or cancel or suspend processing.
- Public interest includes fraud, administrative error, public health, safety and national security.
- No single minister can do it: each decision needs a Governor in Council order, recommended by Cabinet, published in the Canada Gazette and reported to Parliament.
- Regulations can also let officers act case by case, for example by reviewing document holders outside Canada.
- The powers do not touch asylum claims, and do not let the government grant, change or revoke permanent or temporary resident status.
More information sharing
IRCC can now share identity, status and IRCC-issued documents with federal, provincial and territorial partners under written agreements, and reuse your information across its own programs, for example permanent residence data in a citizenship application. Assume what you tell one program can be seen by another, and keep every application consistent.
What to do now
- Out of status or about to be: check your restoration or maintained-status deadline today. Those clocks are shorter than most people think.
- Thinking about asylum: work out the date of your first entry after June 24, 2020 before anything else. It decides whether the IRB hears your claim.
- Holding a permit or a pending application: nothing changes unless an order is made, and orders are public in the Canada Gazette.
If your status is running out, book a consultation before you file anything. The order you take these steps in can decide which options stay open.
Sources: Government of Canada, Understanding the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act; LEGISinfo, C-12 (45-1) (Royal Assent March 26, 2026). General information only, not legal advice. Individual files vary; obtain advice on your own circumstances.
Questions, answered
Can I claim asylum if I have been in Canada for more than a year?
You can make a claim, but if it is made more than one year after your first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, it will not be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board. This applies even if you left and came back. In most cases you would still have access to a pre-removal risk assessment. Unaccompanied minors are exempt.
When does the one-year asylum rule apply from?
It applies to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025. The year is counted from your first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020.
Can IRCC cancel my work or study permit under Bill C-12?
The Act lets the government cancel, suspend or change large groups of immigration documents, pause intake or stop processing, but only in the public interest (such as fraud, administrative error, public health, safety or national security), by Governor in Council order published in the Canada Gazette. It does not apply to asylum claims and does not give power to grant or revoke permanent or temporary resident status.
Does Bill C-12 change the Safe Third Country Agreement?
No. People who claim at a port of entry on the Canada–US land border, or within 14 days of entering between ports, are still returned to the United States unless an exception or exemption applies.
