As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has published a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement outlining the federal decision to remove the second medical exam requirement for asylum seekers applying for permanent residency.

The change, made through an amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, makes permanent a temporary measure that had been in effect since 2020. Refugee claimants will continue to receive an initial taxpayer-funded medical assessment when they enter Canada and submit an asylum claim, but they will no longer be required to pay for a repeat exam during the permanent residency process. Federal documents state that the policy is intended to reduce financial barriers for protected persons and shorten processing timelines.

The analysis notes that the cost of a complete medical exam averages several hundred dollars per person and that many protected persons face financial pressures that can slow their path to permanent residency. The department’s review concluded that removing the additional exam poses a low level of risk after evaluating factors related to public health, public safety and the impact on the health-care system.

Eligibility for the exemption applies to protected persons and their accompanying family members who already completed the first taxpayer-funded exam, are applying for permanent residency and have not spent extended time in countries designated as higher risk for tuberculosis since that assessment. Individuals who were required to undergo medical surveillance after the first exam and did not comply remain subject to the second examination requirement.

From the introduction of the temporary measure in 2020 to mid-May 2024, more than 36,000 repeat medical exams were waived. Federal estimates indicate that protected persons collectively saved nearly $4 million a year during that period.

Public Health Canada data shows that foreign-born individuals account for a majority of tuberculosis cases and that international travel continues to be a source of measles introduction, COVID-19 variants and sexually transmitted infections. These findings form part of the broader public-health context included in federal reporting on the regulatory change.