- Andrew Carvajal
Increase in IRCC processing fees for economic Permanent Residence applications
As of 9 am on April 30, certain immigration application processing fees were raised by the Canadian government. The fee changes, which amount to a 50% increase in most cases, affected certain applications for Canadian permanent residence under the economic class.
A summary of the fee increases is found below:
Quebec investor class, Quebec entrepreneur class, Quebec self-employed person class, start-up business class and the self-employed class:
Principal applicant: $1,050 to $1,575
Spouse: $550 to $825
Dependent children: $150 to $225
Other economic (non-business) classes. I.e. Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, Federal Skilled Trades, Atlantic Immigration Pilot, Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot, Quebec Skilled Workers and other provincial nominees:
Principal applicant: $550 to $825
Spouse: $550 to $825
Dependent children: $150 to $225
Right of Permanent Residence Fee: $490 to $500 (2% increase)
Permanent residence applications by caregivers, protected persons, family class applicants and humanitarian & compassionate applicants were not affected by fee increases, other than the general $10 increase of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee.
Up to the publication of this blog post, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has been warning on its website that Express Entry fees have not yet been updated in the system. As a result, Express Entry applicants are required to pay the difference between the old and new processing fees through the ePayment portal and include proof of payment with the application.
Processing fees are expected to increase again in two years, on April 30, in accordance with the cumulative percentage increase to the Consumer Price Index for Canada, rounded to the nearest five dollars.
Andrew Carvajal is a Toronto lawyer, partner and Head of Economic Immigration at Desloges Law Group. He specializes in immigration law, administrative law and professional discipline litigation.
Twitter: @CarvajalLaw
LinkedIn:linkedin.com/in/carvajalandrew
Email: acarvajal@desloges.ca
