The Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration with respect to the provision of the annexed Regulations, and on the recommendation of the Treasury Board with respect to section 3 of the annexed Regulations, has announced an amendment for certain fees effective April 30, 2020. This is revealed in the document issued on March 13, 2020 from the Government of Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 154, Number 7.
The objective of the said amendment is to reduce the subsidization burden on the taxpayer for permanent resident programs and services, and there is a two-phased approach starting in 2020.
The document contains that the amended fees will be for first phase, in 2020-21, which includes:
- Subsection 295(1)(b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR): Processing fee for Quebec investor class, Quebec entrepreneur class, start-up business class, self-employed persons business class, or Quebec self-employed persons class increase as follows:
| Category | Old fee | Amended fee |
| Principal applicant | $1,050 | $1,575 |
| Spouse or Common-law partner of the Applicant | $550 | $825 |
| Dependent child of the Applicant | $150 | $225 |
- Subsection 295(1)(c) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR): Processing fee for an application made by a person as a member of any other class or by a person referred to in section 71 increase as follows:
| Category | Old fee | Amended fee |
| Principal applicant | $550 | $825 |
| Spouse or Common-law partner of the Applicant | $550 | $825 |
| Dependent child of the Applicant | $150 | $225 |
Note: the fees above apply to Economic non-business class persons. This increase does not apply to fees for principal applicant and their families in the Caregivers programs, which will remain unchanged.
- Refugees and Protected Persons are exempt from these changes
- Subsection 303(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR): A fee for the acquisition of permanent residence status, including Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF), increase as follows:
| Category | Old fee | Amended fee |
| Principal applicant | $490 | $500 |
Moreover, the document revealed that fees are set for further increase in two years based on the applicable Consumer Price Index increase rounded to the nearest $5. During the second phase, beginning in 2022-23, all application fees in the Economic, Family and Humanitarian classes, as well as the Right of Permanent Residence fee, are set to increased on a two-year basis. New fee amounts will be released in 2022.
Lastly, Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) expresses that permanent residence fees have not increased since 2002 and the announced amendment on certain fees with a two-phased approach is expected to ensure that fees remain consistent with inflation.
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