Canada Enacts Bill C-12, Tightening Asylum Rules and Expanding Immigration Management Powers

By Tahani Elghazaly
Published March 27, 2026

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Canada’s Bill C-12 became law after receiving Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. Ottawa says the legislation is designed to strengthen the country’s immigration and asylum systems in four areas: new asylum eligibility rules, a modernized claims process, expanded domestic information sharing, and broader authorities to manage immigration documents and applications in the public interest.

Under the new law, asylum claims made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, will not be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board. The same applies to people who cross the Canada US land border between official ports of entry and make a claim more than 14 days later. The federal government says affected individuals will still have access to a pre removal risk assessment, while the Safe Third Country Agreement remains unchanged.

The government also says upcoming regulatory changes will simplify online applications, send only complete claims to the Immigration and Refugee Board, and require claimants to be physically present in Canada while their case is decided. Claims may also be considered abandoned if a claimant voluntarily returns to the country where they alleged persecution before a decision is made. Ottawa says the changes are intended to make the system faster and more manageable.

The law also gives IRCC clearer authority to share certain personal information with domestic government partners through written agreements, and gives the federal government new tools to pause, suspend, cancel, or change groups of immigration documents or related applications in cases involving fraud, public health, safety, or national security. These decisions require Governor in Council approval and must be published and reported to Parliament. The government says these powers do not change a person’s immigration status on their own and do not directly affect in Canada asylum claims.