If you have heard that Canada lends money to immigrants, you have probably pictured a loan you could apply for to fund your own move. That is not what this is.
These loans are for people Canada has already selected, mainly refugees being resettled here. They are interest-free, repayment does not start for a year, and IRCC rewrote the instructions behind them on 18 September 2026.
Who the program is actually for
Most loan recipients are refugees resettled to Canada: Government-Assisted Refugees, Privately Sponsored Refugees, Joint Assistance Sponsorship clients and Blended Visa Office-Referred clients. People selected for permanent residence under the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot can use them too. Where a temporary public policy opens loans to some other group, the application guide for that policy says so.
IRCC also describes the program as a possible lender of last resort for other permanent residence applicants. But you have to prove a traditional lending institution such as a bank turned you down, and approval still rests on your demonstrated need and your ability to repay. This is not a way to fund an application you could otherwise fund yourself.
A Canadian citizen or permanent resident can also borrow on behalf of a beneficiary. Under section 288 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, that beneficiary can be their spouse, common-law or conjugal partner, a dependent child of theirs or their partner’s, or another person who depends on them.
The four loans
| Loan | What it covers | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Loan for Transportation to Canada | Travel from outside Canada to the airport nearest your final destination, plus associated costs | IOM pays upfront and invoices IRCC |
| In-Canada Transportation Loan | Accommodation and ground transport while you are in transit from the port of entry to your final destination | Providers invoice IRCC |
| Assistance Loan | Costs of settling in, and of getting into the labour market | Paid to you as money |
| Right of Permanent Residence Fee Loan | The RPRF itself | Fee covered on your behalf |
Only the Assistance Loan reaches you as money. For the other three the cost is paid on your behalf and then added to your account, so you never receive cash and cannot ask for a transfer instead. However many you use, you end up with a single ILP loan account, generally numbered with your unique client identifier.
What the limits are
The Loan for Transportation to Canada is capped at $15,000 per loan for travellers eligible under the Resettlement Assistance Program, and anything above that is covered by IRCC rather than added to your debt. Travellers who are not RAP-eligible do not get that ceiling, and their loan can reach $55,000. If a family’s transportation loan exceeds $15,000, an adult beneficiary may be issued a loan of their own. IOM’s movement assistance fee is a further CAD $300 per traveller, and it goes on the loan.
The Assistance Loan has no fixed maximum; a designated officer can authorize any amount that demonstrated need supports. It is available during your first year in Canada, extended to two years for Joint Assistance Sponsorship clients, after which IRCC expects you to use ordinary lenders.
The RPRF Loan is mostly for people arriving through complementary pathways. Resettlement clients do not need it, because they are exempt from the fee altogether.
Repayment
You start repaying no later than 12 months after the travellers arrive in Canada for the two transportation loans, or 12 months after the loan is issued for the Assistance and RPRF loans. How long you then have depends on the total across your whole account:
| Total ILP loan | Repayment period |
|---|---|
| Up to $1,200 | 36 months (3 years) |
| More than $1,200, up to $2,400 | 48 months (4 years) |
| More than $2,400, up to $3,600 | 60 months (5 years) |
| More than $3,600, up to $4,800 | 72 months (6 years) |
| More than $4,800 | 96 months (8 years) |
No interest is charged at any point. IRCC sends a statement showing the total and the minimum monthly payment. For the Loan for Transportation to Canada that statement can take several months to arrive, because the account only opens once IRCC receives the invoice from the agency that actually paid for the travel — and no payment can be accepted until it does. If someone co-signs your agreement, they become responsible for the loan if you do not repay it.
Signing, and who signs for children
For every loan type, the parent or intended guardian signs for a minor. That includes children who are de facto dependants and children coming under the one-year window of opportunity. A minor signs their own agreement only in exceptional circumstances, such as a child selected on their own Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot application. The same applies where an adult principal applicant cannot act on their own behalf.
IRCC does not grant guardianship, which is why the instructions say “intended guardian”. Legal guardianship can only be started through the provincial or territorial courts after the child arrives.
When Canada pays instead of lending
Some resettled refugees have exceptionally high needs, and through the Resettlement Assistance Program IRCC may cover their transportation and initial settlement costs outright rather than having them repay through a loan.
If you are reading this because you are planning a skilled worker, study or business application, this program is not a funding route for you. You will need to show settlement funds from money you already hold, and the requirement differs across the permanent residence routes. These loans are support after selection, not a way in.
Official sources: Immigration Loans Program and Repayment of loans, IRCC program delivery instructions, updated 18 September 2026.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and it describes published official rules rather than any individual case. Hadi Imani is a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, licence R522575, practising in Toronto; that licence covers Canadian immigration only.
