Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations: SOR/2025-234

Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 159, Number 25

Registration
SOR/2025-234 November 21, 2025

IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE PROTECTION ACT

P.C. 2025-820 November 21, 2025

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations under subsections 5(1), 14(2)footnote a, and 26(1)footnote b of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act footnote c.

Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

Amendment

1 Schedule 1.1 to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations footnote 1 is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

Coming into Force

2 These Regulations come into force at 05:30:00 Eastern Standard Time on November 25, 2025, but if they are registered after that time, they come into force at 05:30:00 Eastern Standard Time on the day after the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Issues

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations), all visitors to Canada require a temporary resident visa (TRV), except for foreign nationals of countries and territories who have been granted an exemption. With the exception of, among others, citizens and lawful permanent residents of the United States, foreign nationals who are visa-exempt require an electronic travel authorization (eTA) to travel to Canada by air. An approved eTA is valid for five years, or until the holder’s passport expires, whichever occurs first. An eTA allows the holder multiple entries to or through Canada, by air only, for short stays, generally of up to six months. Visa-exempt foreign nationals do not require any other authorization to enter Canada in land, rail or marine modes.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has assessed that citizens of Qatar meet the comprehensive criteria in Canada’s visa policy review process for an exemption to the requirement of obtaining a TRV before travelling to Canada. These criteria include socio-economic conditions, migration trends, travel document integrity, border management, safety and security, human rights, and bilateral and multilateral issues. Amendments to the Regulations are needed to exempt citizens of Qatar from the TRV requirement, allowing them to travel to Canada under an eTA in air mode.

Background

A visa requirement is considered the most effective tool in managing migration. TRV applicants must satisfy visa officers that they will abide by the conditions of temporary residence in Canada, and may be subject to immigration security screening to prevent travel by those inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

A decision to lift a visa requirement seeks to calibrate the protection of the safety and security of Canadians with the benefits of facilitating travel for legitimate temporary residents. Effective calibration brings important economic advantages to Canada, without undermining public confidence in the immigration system.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada completed an in-depth review of all related risks and benefits associated with exempting citizens of Qatar from the visa requirement. The review concluded that citizens of Qatar meet Canada’s comprehensive criteria for a visa exemption.

Objective

The objective of the Regulations Amending the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Amendments) is to facilitate the travel of citizens of Qatar to Canada on an eTA in air mode.

Description

The Amendments add Qatar to the list of countries and territories whose citizens are exempt from the TRV requirement and eligible to apply for an eTA for travel to Canada in air mode only under subsection 190(1) of the Regulations. No prescreening will be required for travel by land, rail or marine modes.

Regulatory development

Consultation

The consultations related to the Amendments were wide-ranging and included the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Public Safety Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, and Global Affairs Canada. During this review, Canada also collected information from its international partners.

Indigenous engagement, consultation and modern treaty obligations

An assessment of modern treaty implications was conducted.

The Amendments would not apply to or take effect in any modern treaty area. No modern treaty implications with respect to the Amendments were identified.

Instrument choice

In order to add Qatar to the list of countries exempt from the TRV requirement, a regulatory change is necessary and is the only option. As a result, other instruments were not considered.

Regulatory analysis

Benefits and costs

An important first step in developing a cost-benefit methodology is establishing a baseline scenario against which options may be measured. For this analysis, the baseline scenario is one where citizens of Qatar are required to obtain a TRV to enter Canada. The baseline scenario is then compared with the regulatory scenario in which citizens of Qatar would be required to obtain an eTA for travel in air mode to enter Canada, instead of a TRV.

Costs
Costs to the Government

Adding Qatar to the list of countries whose citizens are exempt from obtaining a TRV to enter Canada will result in incremental costs to the Government of Canada. These costs would be incurred by IRCC and the CBSA. As a result of the Amendments, minimal port of entry inspections and inland enforcement costs are expected. An increase of 400 additional travellers is expected annually.

Transition and ongoing costs

IRCC and the CBSA are expected to incur costs associated with implementation and ongoing monitoring. Implementation costs include program planning, guidance material updates, communications activities to inform the public of the regulatory change, addressing questions related to the visa lift, and IT updates to IRCC’s Global Case Management System to include Qatar in the list of visa exempted countries. Furthermore, ongoing costs include regular review of tools and communications products, oversight of post-implementation operations and monitoring integrity and processing issues should they arise. These costs are estimated at $127,305 in the implementation year, and $11,700 annually for 10 years.

It should be noted that removing the TRV requirement for citizens of Qatar will not impose incremental application processing costs to the Government of Canada, as this process is fully cost-recovered through the eTA application fee. Similarly, the Government of Canada would no longer be processing TRVs, thus no longer collecting TRV revenue. However, the corresponding TRV revenue loss would be fully offset by the reduction in TRV processing. As both eTA and TRV fees are fully cost-recovered, any loss of fee revenue is offset by savings in processing costs, resulting in a neutral impact.

Enforcement and asylum costs

In implementing a visa exemption for Qatar, as with any visa exemption, Canada will be reducing its toolkit for identifying potential risks. However, it is anticipated that the risk is relatively low, given that, historically, Canada has not observed a large number of asylum or immigration violations from Qatar. In recent years, travel volumes of citizens from Qatar to Canada have been low, with few immigration or enforcement concerns reported. Therefore, inland enforcement costs are expected to remain minimal following the change to Qatar’s TRV status.

In addition, Qatari citizens, generally, abide by the conditions of their stay. Citizens of Qatar are deemed low-risk from a customs and immigration perspective and benefit from strong passport issuance, border security, and identity management. Other countries, such as New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, have lifted the visa requirements for Qatari citizens.

Industry impacts

Minimal costs to the air industry are expected, as the infrastructure for processing eTA travellers is already in place. Only minor employee guidance activities are expected.

Benefits

Electronic travel authorization processing is faster than the visa screening process. By lifting the visa requirement, it is expected that Canada will see a modest increase in travel volumes from Qatar (approximately 400 annually).footnote 2 This change encourages air travel and tourism from Qatar, which benefits airlines, airports, and related industries, such as hospitality and retail.

In the long term, Canadians may see benefits through increased people-to-people ties and strengthened bilateral relationships, which could translate into new economic opportunities through trade. Qualitative benefits also include easier access for foreign nationals to visit family and friends residing in Canada, and an increase in Qataris travelling for business, stimulating growth in the business sector.

The Amendments also advance the Government of Canada’s priorities aimed at attracting the best talent in the world to build its economy. Skilled professionals from Qatar could enter Canada more easily for short-term business trips or conferences without waiting for visa approval. A visa lift would not only streamline access for skilled individuals by easing entry into Canada, but this would also amplify Canada’s broader goals of fostering innovation and attracting investment.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply, as there are no cost impacts on businesses associated with the Amendments.

One-for-one rule

The one-for-one rule does not apply, as there are no cost impacts on businesses associated with the Amendments.

Regulatory cooperation and alignment

The Amendments do not present any challenges with respect to regulatory cooperation and alignment.

International obligations

The Amendments do not affect obligations arising from Canada’s international trade agreements.

Effects on the environment

In accordance with the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment (SEEA Directive), a preliminary scan concluded that a strategic environmental and economic assessment is not required.

Gender-based analysis plus

A gender-based analysis plus (GBA+) of the Amendments found no negative impacts related to gender or other identity factors. Overall, the analysis highlighted that the visa lift does not intentionally target specific groups of travellers. Based on recent data, the gender characteristics are broadly gender-balanced among the general traveller population.

Implementation, compliance and enforcement, and service standards

Implementation

The Amendments come into force on November 25, 2025, at 5:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). At that time, citizens of Qatar will no longer need a visa to travel to Canada and will be able to apply for an eTA for travel by air. Citizens of Qatar holding a valid visitor visa may continue to travel to Canada without an eTA until the visa’s expiry. However, they must still obtain a permit to work or study in Canada. IRCC Communications will leverage its social media channels to share messaging on the visa lift and new travel requirements. Web alerts will be posted on relevant pages linking to the news release to notify citizens of Qatar of the upcoming changes. Government of Canada websites will also be updated, and IRCC and the CBSA will engage with air industry stakeholders to support air carriers in the transition. As this amendment removes the TRV requirement, no compliance measures are required. However, the impact of this change will be monitored and evaluated with existing information sources and according to existing practices.

Contact

Heather Roberts
Acting Director
Visitors Policy, Visitors
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
180 Kent Street, 8th Floor
Ottawa, Ontario
Email: heather.roberts@cic.gc.ca