Refugee claims filed at Canadian airports collapsed by 73% after Ottawa reinstated a visa requirement for Mexican air travellers, as overall asylum claims also dropped sharply amid tighter rules on foreign students and temporary residents.Blacklock's Reporter says figures tabled with the Senate social affairs committee show total refugee claims between January and November 2025 fell 33% year over year, from 159,860 to 107,005. Airport claims declined at more than double that pace.According to the report Statistics On Arrival vs. Claimant Date, claims made at airports fell from 40,240 to 10,780 over the same period — a 73% drop.Officials linked the decline to cabinet’s decision to reimpose a visa requirement for travellers from Mexico arriving by air. The visa rule had been lifted in 2016 following diplomatic pressure. At the time, Jesus Reyes-Heroles, then Mexico’s ambassador to the United States, condemned the measure.A 2024 Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement estimated the Mexican visa requirement saves taxpayers roughly $660 million annually in investigation, hearing and deportation costs. The statement said few claims were ultimately found to be legitimate..“Most Mexican claims are made at airports on arrival, an indication that claiming asylum, not visiting, was the true purpose of travel,” the analysis said, adding that the majority of claims were abandoned, withdrawn or rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board.While airport claims dropped dramatically, claims at land borders rose 40%, from 13,400 to 17,725. However, officials described those totals as comparatively modest.Inland claims — made by individuals already in Canada — declined 29%, falling from 102,270 to 72,535 between January and November. The drop coincided with cabinet’s move to reduce quotas for foreign students and temporary workers.Managers reported that approximately 39% of inland claims last year were filed more than one year after arrival in Canada, compared to about 14% in 2024.The number of foreign students in Canada more than doubled between 2015 and 2023, rising from 457,828 to a record 1,040,000. Beginning in 2025, cabinet reduced new temporary permits for foreign students and migrant workers from a combined 673,650 to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027.“Ineligibility measures are about protecting the asylum system against surges in claims, but also about deterring people from using the asylum system to bypass regular immigration rules or to extend their stay,” the departmental report told senators.
