🇨🇦 Current IRPA Section 24 Temporary Resident Permit Framework
Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) Guide 2026
Understand Canada's Temporary Resident Permit system: when a TRP can address inadmissibility, how compelling need is assessed, current fees, port-of-entry requests, validity and the difference from Criminal Rehabilitation.
1. What a Temporary Resident Permit Does
A Temporary Resident Permit is a discretionary Canadian immigration document for a foreign national who is inadmissible to Canada or does not meet certain requirements of IRPA or its regulations, but has a compelling reason to enter or remain in Canada temporarily.
Key Rules
- A TRP does not permanently remove the underlying inadmissibility. It provides temporary permission despite the inadmissibility or non-compliance.
- The officer must be satisfied that the person's need to enter or remain in Canada outweighs the health or safety risks to Canadian society.
- There is no guarantee of approval, even where the inadmissibility appears minor.
- TRPs can address criminal, medical and other inadmissibility/non-compliance situations covered by the current TRP rules.
- Common examples include serious criminal inadmissibility, impaired-driving-related inadmissibility, certain medical inadmissibility cases and other situations where temporary entry is justified.
- A TRP is not the same as a temporary resident visa (TRV), eTA, work permit or study permit.
Mandatory Action Checklist
✓Identify the precise legal ground of inadmissibility.
✓Explain why entry or continued stay in Canada is compelling at this time.
✓Provide evidence showing the purpose, duration and importance of the proposed stay.
✓Provide documents addressing the inadmissibility and any steps taken to resolve it.
2. TRP vs Criminal Rehabilitation
TRP and Criminal Rehabilitation solve different problems. A TRP is temporary and discretionary; rehabilitation removes the criminal inadmissibility ground when the applicant qualifies.
| Feature | Temporary Resident Permit | Criminal Rehabilitation |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Temporary permission despite inadmissibility/non-compliance | Remove criminal inadmissibility where the legal rehabilitation requirements are met |
| Compelling reason | Required | No TRP-style compelling-need test |
| Underlying criminal inadmissibility | Remains | Criminal inadmissibility ground is removed if rehabilitation is granted |
| Waiting period | No fixed 5-year rehabilitation waiting period, but a compelling temporary need is still required | Eligibility generally begins after 5 years from the relevant offence/sentence date under the applicable rules |
| Current government fee | $246.25 CAD for a TRP as of August 20, 2026 | $246.25 for criminality rehabilitation; $1,231 for serious-criminality rehabilitation |
| Duration | Maximum 3 years per TRP, subject to the permit terms | Not a temporary permit; it addresses the criminal inadmissibility ground |
Rehabilitation Timing
- For an offence committed outside Canada that would be an indictable offence punishable in Canada by less than 10 years, rehabilitation can generally be available 5 years after the relevant offence or sentence-completion date, depending on whether there was a conviction.
- For offences that would be punishable by 10 years or more, the rehabilitation application generally becomes available 5 years after the applicable offence/sentence point under IRCC's rules.
- There are separate deemed-rehabilitation rules and special rules for multiple offences.
- A person with a Canadian criminal conviction generally needs a record suspension rather than the outside-Canada rehabilitation process.
Fee WarningDo not put the $1,231 serious-criminality rehabilitation fee on the TRP application. It is the current serious-criminality rehabilitation fee, not a separate TRP fee.
3. Applying for a TRP and Port-of-Entry Requests
The application route depends on the person's situation. IRCC's current online process allows a TRP request to be supported within the applicable temporary-residence application, while a person arriving at a Canadian port of entry can ask the officer for TRP consideration.
Application Process
- For an application made before travel, use the current IRCC secure-account process and upload supporting evidence explaining both the inadmissibility and the compelling reason for entering Canada.
- Pay the TRP processing fee separately and upload the payment receipt as required by the current instructions.
- An officer may require an interview to assess the request.
- At a Canadian port of entry, tell the officer that you want TRP consideration. The officer will review your travel document, applicable eligibility and any required medical documentation.
- A POE officer can issue a TRP only if the compelling-need and risk-balancing requirements are satisfied.
- A POE request can be refused, in which case the person may be refused entry.
Documents
- Passport or other valid travel document.
- Court records, conviction records and proof of sentence completion where criminal inadmissibility is involved.
- Police certificates or other records where relevant.
- A detailed explanation of the inadmissibility.
- Evidence explaining the compelling reason to enter or remain in Canada.
- Evidence of employment, family emergency, business obligations, medical circumstances or other relevant reasons where applicable.
- Evidence of rehabilitation efforts or compliance with sentence conditions where relevant.
- Medical documentation where medical inadmissibility is involved.
- Proof of payment of the TRP fee.
Poe NoteDo not publish a blanket rule that only US citizens can request a TRP at a port of entry. The current IRCC instructions describe a TRP request at a port of entry as an available process, with the officer making the decision under the applicable rules.
Travel Document RuleA TRP does not by itself replace any separate travel-document requirement. Depending on nationality and circumstances, a traveler may still need the appropriate TRV or eTA to travel to Canada.
4. TRP Validity, Leaving Canada and Work/Study
A TRP is temporary and its terms matter. It should not be treated like permanent rehabilitation or ordinary visitor status.
Critical Regulatory NoteA pending TRP application does not automatically preserve temporary resident status or work/study rights.
Rules
- A TRP can be issued for a maximum of 3 years.
- The officer determines the actual validity period based on the circumstances and the permit terms.
- A TRP may be cancelled at any time.
- A TRP normally becomes invalid when the holder leaves Canada unless it specifically states that it is valid for re-entry.
- The holder must leave Canada by the permit's expiry date unless another lawful status has been obtained.
- A TRP holder cannot work or study merely because they hold a TRP; a separate work or study permit is required unless another legal authorization applies.
- TRP applicants do not receive maintained status while a TRP application is being processed.
- A person already in Canada who needs another TRP should follow the current in-Canada extension/another-TRP instructions before the current status expires.
5. Permit Holder Class and Permanent Residence
The Permit Holder Class is a separate permanent-residence pathway for certain people who have lived in Canada as temporary resident permit holders for the required period. Holding a TRP does not automatically create PR eligibility.
Critical Regulatory NoteThe Permit Holder Class is narrow and fact-specific. A TRP is not a general pathway to permanent residence.
Requirements
- For certain health-related inadmissibility cases, a permit holder can generally qualify after at least 3 continuous years of residence in Canada as a permit holder, subject to the detailed class requirements.
- For certain other qualifying inadmissibility grounds, the relevant requirement is generally at least 5 continuous years of residence in Canada as a permit holder.
- The applicant must continue to meet the class's specific inadmissibility and status conditions.
- The PR application should be based on the current Permit Holder Class requirements, not on an assumption that any TRP holder automatically becomes eligible after 3 or 5 years.
6. Practical 2026 TRP Application Checklist
Mandatory Action Checklist
✓Identify the exact inadmissibility ground under Canadian immigration law.
✓Determine whether Criminal Rehabilitation or another remedy may permanently address the issue.
✓If the need is temporary and immediate, build the TRP case around the specific compelling reason to enter or remain.
✓Collect complete criminal, court, police and sentence records where applicable.
✓Prepare evidence showing why the trip or stay is important now and cannot reasonably be postponed.
✓Explain the duration of the requested stay and why that duration is necessary.
✓Address any health or safety concerns directly instead of ignoring them.
✓Pay the current $246.25 TRP fee as of August 20, 2026 and verify the fee immediately before filing because IRCC has announced a further fee adjustment for December 1, 2026.
✓Use the current IRCC application route and upload the fee receipt and supporting evidence.
✓If requesting consideration at a port of entry, understand that refusal can mean immediate refusal of entry.
✓Do not work or study on the basis of the TRP alone.
✓If already in Canada, do not assume a pending TRP application gives maintained status.
✓Keep a copy of the approved TRP and check whether it explicitly permits re-entry before leaving Canada.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
A TRP is a discretionary temporary document that can allow a foreign national who is inadmissible or otherwise does not meet certain IRPA/IRPR requirements to enter or remain in Canada when there is a compelling reason and the officer determines that the need outweighs the health or safety risks.
The TRP fee is $246.25 CAD as of August 20, 2026. IRCC's 2026-27 fee report states that the fee is scheduled to increase to $250.50 on December 1, 2026, so applicants should verify the fee immediately before filing.
A person arriving at a Canadian port of entry can ask the officer for TRP consideration. The officer decides whether the person has a compelling reason to enter and whether the need outweighs the health or safety risks. A POE request can be refused, resulting in refusal of entry.
A TRP is temporary permission despite inadmissibility and requires a compelling reason. Criminal Rehabilitation is a separate process that can remove the criminal inadmissibility ground when the applicant qualifies. Rehabilitation does not require the TRP-style compelling-need test.
No. A TRP does not by itself authorize work or study. A separate work permit or study permit is generally required unless another legal authorization applies.
Sometimes, but only through the narrow Permit Holder Class and only when its detailed requirements are met. Current IRCC rules use different continuous-residence thresholds for qualifying health-related cases and other inadmissibility grounds. A TRP alone does not guarantee PR eligibility.
Official Government Sources & Authorities
- IRCC — Temporary Resident Permit: Who Can Apply
- IRCC — Temporary Resident Permit: How to Apply or Request Consideration
- IRCC — Temporary Resident Permit: After You Apply
- IRCC — Guide 5312: Rehabilitation for Persons Inadmissible Because of Past Criminal Activity
- IRCC — Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees
- IRCC — Fee Changes: Inadmissibility Fees
- IRCC — 2024-25 Fees Report / 2026-27 Fee Adjustment
- IRCC — Permit Holder Class: Guide 5527
2026 TRP Metrics
Legal AuthorityIRPA Section 24
Core TestCompelling reason outweighs health/safety risks
TRP Fee — Current$246.25 CAD per person until Nov. 30, 2026
Maximum ValidityUp to 3 years
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