For the past two decades, Canada has been welcoming over 200,000 new permanent residents each year, a substantial amount of whom are of Indian descent. This year, those aspiring for a permanent residency (PR) will be met with a 12% increase in application fees as per a notice issued by Canada's Department of Citizenship and Immigration.
The notice, published in the Canadian Gazette on March 30, indicated that the new fee would go live at 9:00:00 am EDT on April 30 and that it was administered per current inflation rates.
The biennial fee changes apply to an array of programmes such as the permanent residency fee, which exempts dependent children, and is set to increase from 515 Canadian dollars (CAD) to 575 CAD.
As per the government's immigration levels plan for 2024-2026, Canada is aiming to admit over 1.1 lakh Federal Skilled Workers and applicants under the Provincial Nominee Programme each. The cost for these applications has spiked from 850 CAD to 950 CAD and applies to accompanying spouses or common-law partners. Candidates under the Quebec Skilled Workers, Atlantic Immigration Class, and Economic Pilots are also expected to pay 950 CAD. Fees for any accompanying dependent child will be increased to 260 CAD from the existing 230 CAD.
Canada's family reunification is a crucial immigration category that grants permanent residents 18 and over to sponsor certain family members to obtain a Canadian PR which allows them to legally live, study, and work in the country. For this, the sponsor fee charge has been increased from 75 CAD to 85 CAD, with additional increased variations of the category ranging from 175 CAD to 635 CAD.
The boost in family reunification costs comes a month following Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Canadian media that his ministry will begin to grant permanent residency to those wanting to reunite with their families in Quebec, despite the province's cap on applicants which he deemed as "artificially low."
