The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced an increase in the fees for applying for a permanent residence visa to immigrate to Canada. The new fees came into effect on April 30, 2024.
The right of permanent residence fee has been raised from $490 to $550 per adult applicant. The fee for children under 22 years old has increased from $245 to $275.
In addition to the right of permanent residence fee hike, other fee increases include:
- Principal applicant processing fee increased from $825 to $925
- Spouse or partner processing fee increased from $825 to $925
- Dependent child processing fee increased from $225 to $250
The fee hikes apply to most economic immigration programs such as the Federal Skilled Worker Program, Federal Skilled Trades Program, Canada Experience Class, and Provincial Nominee Programs.
IRCC states that the fee increases are necessary to better reflect the real costs of operating Canada’s immigration system and processing applications. They note application fees had not increased in several years.
This fee hike makes the overall cost of a PR application for a family of 4 over $3,000 in government fees alone, not including other costs like language tests, Education Credential Assessments, etc.
Immigrant advocates argue the increases place an unreasonable financial burden on prospective immigrants during a period of high inflation and economic uncertainty.
