Canada’s long-debated Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12) became law late Friday after receiving Royal Assent. The legislation introduces a blanket rule that makes any asylum claim filed more than one year after a person’s first arrival in Canada automatically ineligible for referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB). The change applies retroactively to claims dating back to June 24 2020, potentially voiding nearly 19,000 applications now in the IRB inventory. Government officials told reporters that the new bar is designed to deter so-called “late nexus” claims that, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), have doubled processing times and stretched housing budgets in major cities.
![Bill C-12 Receives Royal Assent, Setting One-Year Deadline on New and Pending Refugee Claims]()
Organizations and individual travellers trying to navigate these shifting requirements can find step-by-step assistance through VisaHQ’s dedicated Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), which consolidates the latest policy updates, document checklists and expert support to keep applications on track even as Bill C-12 comes into force.
IRCC will instead direct late filers toward “voluntary departure counselling” and, where warranted, humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications—processes that offer no right to work or public health coverage while the request is assessed. Human-rights groups, including the Canadian Council for Refugees and Amnesty International Canada, argue the measure violates Canada’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. They warn that people fleeing gender-based violence or political upheaval may need months, even years, to feel safe enough to seek protection. Critics also say the retroactivity clause will push thousands of claimants into undocumented status, creating new enforcement pressures for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and provincial social-assistance programs. For employers, the immediate concern is labour continuity. IRCC confirmed that work permits tied to ineligible claims will be cancelled 90 days after the law comes into force, unless the claimant has already transitioned to another temporary stream. Companies that rely on claimants with open work permits—especially in agriculture, food processing and long-term-care facilities—should review rosters and prepare contingency staffing plans. IRCC says it will issue detailed program delivery instructions next week and hold technical briefings for immigration lawyers and designated employer representatives. Stakeholders should monitor the IRCC website and sign up for departmental email alerts to understand how the new screening rules interact with ongoing humanitarian requests and existing open work-permit renewals.
Organizations and individual travellers trying to navigate these shifting requirements can find step-by-step assistance through VisaHQ’s dedicated Canada portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/), which consolidates the latest policy updates, document checklists and expert support to keep applications on track even as Bill C-12 comes into force.
IRCC will instead direct late filers toward “voluntary departure counselling” and, where warranted, humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications—processes that offer no right to work or public health coverage while the request is assessed. Human-rights groups, including the Canadian Council for Refugees and Amnesty International Canada, argue the measure violates Canada’s obligations under the 1951 Refugee Convention. They warn that people fleeing gender-based violence or political upheaval may need months, even years, to feel safe enough to seek protection. Critics also say the retroactivity clause will push thousands of claimants into undocumented status, creating new enforcement pressures for the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and provincial social-assistance programs. For employers, the immediate concern is labour continuity. IRCC confirmed that work permits tied to ineligible claims will be cancelled 90 days after the law comes into force, unless the claimant has already transitioned to another temporary stream. Companies that rely on claimants with open work permits—especially in agriculture, food processing and long-term-care facilities—should review rosters and prepare contingency staffing plans. IRCC says it will issue detailed program delivery instructions next week and hold technical briefings for immigration lawyers and designated employer representatives. Stakeholders should monitor the IRCC website and sign up for departmental email alerts to understand how the new screening rules interact with ongoing humanitarian requests and existing open work-permit renewals.
