TORONTO – The fee for permanent residency in Canada is set to go up as confirmed officially in a move that could irk the aspiring immigrants.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that the fee for permanent residency will be increased by approximately 12 percent from the end of April.
This change comes after Canada’s Department of Citizenship and Immigration stated in a gazette notification that the ‘right of permanent residence fee’ will be increased to Canadian Dollars (CAD) 575 from the existing CAD 515 from April 30th.
‘The permanent residency (PR) fees will increase at 9:00:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on April 30, 2024, by the cumulative percentage increase to the Consumer Price Index for Canada, published by Statistics Canada, for the two previous years, rounded to the nearest five dollars,’ the notice read.
It is to be highlighted that Canada’s permanent residency is equivalent to getting a green card in the US. Permanent Residency more referred to as PR opens a pathway to getting Canadian citizenship and nowadays professionals from the developing world are queuing up to secure Canadian PR.
Fee change for other applicants
Besides permanent residency, Canada has also increased fees for applications for Federal Skilled Workers, Provincial Nominee Program, Quebec Skilled Workers, Atlantic Immigration Class and most economic pilots (Rural, Agri-Food), and their spouses or common-law partners from CAD 850 to CAD 950; the fee for accompanying a dependent child has been increased from CAD 230 to CAD 260.
Moreover, the fee for the Live-in Caregiver Program and caregivers pilots (Home Child Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot) and their spouses or common-law partners have been increased from CAD 570 to CAD 635.
The authorities have also announced increasing the fee for accompanying a dependent child from CAD 155 to CAD 175.
The fee for Business (federal and Quebec) have been from CAD 1,625 to CAD 1,810. Their accompanying spouse or common-law partner will have to pay CAD 950 instead of CAD 850, while application fees for their accompanying dependent child have been jacked up from CAD 230 to 260.
Under the family reunification immigration program, the sponsorship fee, which applies to sponsors bringing in spouses/partners, children, parents, grandparents, and other relatives, has been enhanced from CAD 75 to CAD 85, News18 reported.
Moreover, the application fees for sponsored principal applicants in this stream will increase from CAD 490 to CAD 545, while for a sponsored child (principal applicant under 22 years old and not a spouse/partner) it will jump from CAS 75 to CAD 85.
It has also been announced that in addition to dependent children and protected persons (including principal applicants and all accompanying family members), sponsored child (of a principal applicant under the family reunification class) – the child must be under 22 years old and not have a spouse/partner as well as principal applicants under the humanitarian and compassionate consideration and public policy classes are exempt from paying the department’s Right of Permanent Residence (RPR) Fee.
It bears mentioning that the increase came a day after Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau said that the influx of international students and temporary immigrants was beyond the country’s absorption capacity. The country has recently taken measures to discourage the entry of international students, limiting their influx by 35 percent as compared to 2023.
