Canada immigration to get costly as government hikes permanent residency fees

Are you planning to make Canada your new home? You might have to churn out more money to make your dream come true. The Canadian government has announced about 12% increase in the 'right of permanent residence fee', reported News18. As per the report, the increased price will come into effect by the end of this month.

Permanent residency fees

The Immigration, Residency and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has announced that the fee for obtaining permanent residency in the courntry, from April 30, 2024, will rise from the current Canadian Dollars (CAD) 515 to CAD 575.

“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", reads the IRCC's notice quoted by News 18.

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However, the Canada government has exempted dependent children accompanying the applicants from paying the fees. This specific fees should be paid at the time of application for permanent residence status.

Along with the hike in Permanent residency fees, Canada has also increased the fees for Federal Skilled Workers, Provincial Nominee Program, Quebec Skilled Workers, Atlantic Immigration Class, and most economic pilots (Rural, Agri-Food), as well as their spouses or common-law partners. The price is increased from CAD 850 to CAD 950 and the fees for dependent children is increased from CAD 230 to CAD 260.

The News18 report further mentioned that, the fees for the Live-in Caregiver Program, caregivers pilots (Home Child Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot), and their spouses or common-law partners have been hiked from CAD 570 to CAD 635, while the fee for accompanying a dependent child has risen from CAD 155 to CAD 175.

Receiving permanent residency in Canada is equivalent to securing a green card in the United States which potentially could lead to obtaining Canadian citizenship