CBSA Resumes Removals to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE

Official sources checked September 25, 2026.

The Canada Border Services Agency has lifted the temporary halt on removals to Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Checked on September 25, 2026, those four countries no longer appear on the current administrative deferral list on the CBSA page Enforcing removals from Canada. On September 23, 2026, the agency’s public account said it had lifted the temporary measure for Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE and Qatar, and that removals of people inadmissible to Canada would resume immediately. (CBSA on X)

This is not a new removal law, and it is not a notice that every national of those countries must leave. The March 24, 2026 halt was an administrative deferral of removal. Lifting it returns those files to the ordinary removal rules. (CBSA news release, March 24, 2026)

What changed on the official list

An administrative deferral of removal, or ADR, is a temporary country measure. The CBSA uses it to defer removals in a humanitarian crisis. It is not meant to answer a person’s individual risk. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

On March 24, 2026, the CBSA imposed an ADR for the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar under paragraph 230(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The agency said conditions in those countries were creating a broad, generalized risk to the entire civilian population, beyond a risk aimed at particular people. The release said the deferral would be lifted once that generalized risk ended, and that removals could then resume for people who are inadmissible and have an enforceable removal order. (CBSA news release, March 24, 2026; IRPR section 230)

The current public list is the practical confirmation. It still names an ADR for parts of Somalia, the Gaza Strip, Ukraine, Syria, Mali, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, Libya, Yemen, Venezuela, Haiti, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon and Israel. It does not name the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain or Qatar. A separate temporary suspension of removal remains in place for Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

The dated public statement is the agency account post of September 23, 2026. The durable record is the removals page itself. If those two ever diverge, the page list is the list to recheck before anyone acts on a headline.

Who this does not affect

The lift does not create a removal order. It also does not cancel a study permit, work permit, visitor status, permanent resident status, or a pending application. A person from one of the four countries who has no removal order is not removable merely because the country deferral ended.

The March halt also never applied to everyone. The CBSA said the ADR did not apply to people inadmissible for criminality, serious criminality, international or human rights violations, organized crime, or security. (CBSA news release, March 24, 2026)

The regulation is wider than that summary. A stay under section 230 does not apply to a person who is inadmissible on security grounds, human or international rights grounds, sanctions grounds, serious criminality, criminality, transborder criminality, or organized criminality. It also does not apply to a person described in section F of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention, or to a person who tells the Minister in writing that they consent to removal to the stayed country. (IRPR section 230)

A country deferral is also not the only pause that can exist on a file. An appeal, a court order, or another legal bar can still keep a removal order from being enforceable. This article cannot tell you which bar, if any, is on a particular file. That has to be read from the order, the decision, and the CBSA record.

What an enforceable order means

The March release said that, once the ADR was lifted, the CBSA would resume removals for people who are inadmissible and have a removal order that is enforceable. (CBSA news release, March 24, 2026)

“Resume” is not the same thing as “everyone is removed today.” The agency account said removals of inadmissible people would resume immediately. That is the enforcement posture. It still depends on an enforceable order, travel documents, a removal itinerary, and any remaining individual protection issue. The CBSA also says that no one is removed without consideration of their individual need for protection. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

If you fear return, do not treat the end of a country deferral as a decision on your personal risk. Get advice before you assume there is nothing left to file, and before you assume a filing will stop removal. Deadlines in removal cases are often short, and a late step can be refused even when the underlying fear is real.

The three removal orders

Canada has three removal orders: departure, exclusion and deportation. (IRPR section 223)

A departure order is the least severe. The person must leave within 30 days after the order becomes enforceable and confirm the departure with the CBSA. If they do, they may return later if they meet the entry rules at that time. If they do not confirm departure within those 30 days, the departure order automatically becomes a deportation order. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

That 30-day period is not 30 days from the date the order was first written, if the order was not yet enforceable. IRCC describes the clock as 30 days from the day the departure order becomes enforceable, meaning it is not suspended. (Authorization to return to Canada)

An exclusion order requires the person to leave immediately, confirm departure, and stay out of Canada for one year after the order is enforced. If the order was issued for misrepresentation, the bar is five years. A return before that period requires an Authorization to Return to Canada. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

A deportation order also requires immediate departure and confirmation with the CBSA. The person is permanently barred from returning unless they obtain an Authorization to Return to Canada. Returning before that authorization can lead to another deportation order. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

For a removal order to be enforced, IRCC says the person must appear before a border services officer at the airport or land border, obtain a Certificate of Departure, and leave Canada. (Authorization to return to Canada)

Deferrals that are still in place

The end of this four-country deferral does not end every Middle East pause. Lebanon, Israel and Iran remain on the current ADR list. The Gaza Strip remains listed as well. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

A temporary suspension of removal is a different measure. The Minister of Public Safety imposes it when general conditions, such as armed conflict or an environmental disaster, pose a risk to the entire civilian population. The CBSA describes an ADR as the faster administrative response to a change in country conditions. Canada’s current temporary suspensions of removal are Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq. Those three were not part of this lift. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

People with serious inadmissibility, including national security and criminality, do not benefit from a stay under these country measures. That rule applies to the deferrals that remain, not only to the four countries just removed from the list. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

What to do if you are from one of the four countries

Start with the document, not the headline.

If you have a removal order, read which type it is and whether any appeal, court case, or other stay is still open. If it is a departure order that has just become enforceable, the 30-day confirmation rule matters. Missing it can convert the order into a deportation order by operation of law. (Enforcing removals from Canada; IRPR section 224)

If you want to leave on your own, or you need a case-specific answer, the CBSA removals line is 1-833-995-0002, Monday to Friday, 7 am to 3 pm Eastern Time. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

If you do not have a removal order, this change does not by itself require you to depart. Keep your status valid. Do not ignore a later CBSA or IRCC letter because a country deferral used to exist.

If you are inadmissible on a ground that section 230 never covered, the March deferral was not your protection. The lift does not change that. The useful question is whether any other process is still open, not whether your country has returned to the public list.

For the broader removal picture, including which countries account for the most enforced removals, see VGIS’s separate CBSA removals breakdown. That article is about statistics. It is not a substitute for the country list on the CBSA page.

Frequently asked questions

Did Canada pass a new removal law for these four countries?

No. The March 24, 2026 measure was an administrative deferral under the existing stay-of-removal regulation. The change in September 2026 is that the four countries are no longer on the current public ADR list, and the CBSA said removals of inadmissible people would resume. (IRPR section 230; Enforcing removals from Canada)

Does this apply to every citizen of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar or the UAE?

No. It concerns people who are inadmissible and have an enforceable removal order. A valid temporary resident, a permanent resident, and a person with no removal order are not removable just because the country deferral ended.

Did the deferral give anyone status in Canada?

No. An ADR defers removal to a country in a generalized crisis. The CBSA page does not describe it as a temporary resident status, a work permit, or a permanent residence pathway. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

Are Israel, Lebanon and Iran still deferred?

Yes. On the removals page checked September 25, 2026, Israel, Lebanon and Iran were still named in the current ADR note. The Gaza Strip was still named as well. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

When does the 30-day departure period start?

For a departure order, the CBSA counts 30 days after the order becomes enforceable. If the person does not confirm departure with the CBSA in that period, the departure order becomes a deportation order. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

Can the CBSA still consider individual risk?

Yes. The agency says no one is removed without consideration of their individual need for protection. A country deferral was never the individual risk assessment. If you fear return, get advice on what, if anything, remains open on your file before a removal date is set. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

Who was never covered by the March deferral?

The regulation excludes people inadmissible for security, human or international rights violations, sanctions, serious criminality, criminality, transborder criminality, or organized criminality. It also excludes people described in Article 1F of the Refugee Convention, and people who consent in writing to removal. (IRPR section 230)

How is a removal order enforced?

IRCC says the person must appear before a border services officer, obtain a Certificate of Departure, and leave Canada. Leaving without that confirmation can matter, especially on a departure order, because the 30-day rule depends on confirming departure. (Authorization to return to Canada)

Where can I ask about voluntary departure?

The CBSA removals line is 1-833-995-0002, Monday to Friday, 7 am to 3 pm Eastern Time. Use it for a case-specific question or for information on departing voluntarily. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

Did this lift the temporary suspensions for Afghanistan, Congo or Iraq?

No. Those remain temporary suspensions of removal, which are a separate measure from this administrative deferral. The current page still lists Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq. (Enforcing removals from Canada)

If a removal order, a missed departure window, or a fear of return is now active on your file, Book a Consultation.

VG Immigration Services Inc. | Dimple Verma, RCIC-IRB R708308 | vgis.ca