Immigration Fees are Going Up
Posted on 24/03/2020
As of April 30, 2020, fees for various immigration procedures are going up substantially. In fact, the IRCC has decided to make tax-day (April 30 in Canada is the day when taxes are due) the day that IRCC fees are to be raised.
Not only that, every 2 years from April 30, 2022 onwards, certain IRCC fees will be adjusted upward according to the inflation rate in Canada. Here’s the government’s official bulletin on this matter:
The fees set out in subsections 295(1) and 301(1), section 302, subsection 304(1), and section 307 shall be indexed at 9:00:00 am Eastern daylight time on April 30, 2022, and every two years after that on April 30 at the same time, in accordance with 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.
We will show you below how to understand which fees will be indexed every 2 years starting on April 30, 2022. But first let’s see which fees are going up starting April 30, 2020.
Immediate fee increases starting April 30, 2020
According to the Canadian government’s official bulletin, the following fees established in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) will be increasing April 30, 2020:
- Subsection 295(1)(b): Processing fee for Quebec investor class, Quebec entrepreneur class, start-up business class, self-employed persons business class, or Quebec self-employed persons class will rise as follows:
| Category | Old fee | New fee |
| Principal applicant | $1,050 | $1,575 |
| Spouse or Common or Common-law partner | $550 | $825 |
| Dependent children | $150 | $225 |
- Subsection 295(1)(c): Processing fee for application made by member of any other class or person referred to in section 71 will rise as follows:
| Category | Old fee | New fee |
| Principal applicant | $550 | $825 |
| Spouse or Common-law partner | $550 | $825 |
| Dependent children | $150 | $225 |
- Refugees and Protected Persons are exempt from these changes
- Subsection 303(1): A fee for the acquisition of permanent resident status, including Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF), will rise as follows:
| Category | Old fee | New fee |
| Principal applicant | $490 | $500 |
Indexation of fees starting April 30, 2022
The following table illustrates which fees will be indexed according to the Canadian Consumer Price Index starting in 2 years time on April 30, 2022:
| IRPR Section | Type of fee |
| 295(1) | Processing fee for PR visa application |
| 301(1) | Processing fee for application to remain in Canada as a PR |
| 302 | Processing fee for permit holder to remain in Canada as a PR |
| 304(1) | Processing fee for sponsorship application under Family Class (part 7) |
| 307 | Processing fees payable by someone applying for PR visa or PR status who is subject to an unenforced removal order |
Every two years, starting April 30, 2022, these fees will be indexed upward in accordance with Canada’s inflation rate.
So, we have an immediate set of fee increases starting this April 30, 2020 listed in the first section of this blog. Then we have an indexing upwards every 2 years starting on April 30,2022 of the fees listed in the table immediately above.
Make sure you check back with us to keep on top of any other fee increases or changes to immigration process and protocols as the COVID-19 situation evolves day by day and week by week.
Posted in News Tips and tagged Permanent Residence
