An overview of permanent residence fees for economic immigration pathways in 2024

Recent data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that Canada welcomed 471,550 new permanent residents (PRs) in 2023, over 6,000 more PRs than the target outlined in IRCC’s 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan.

Canada’s number of PRs welcomed in 2023 also exceeds the total reached in 2022 (437,600) by more than 33,000.

Of the many permanent residence pathways available to foreign nationals looking to start a new life in Canada, most applicants will arrive through economic immigration.

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In pursuit of this goal, applicants will have to pay various fees depending on the program/route they take to immigrate as a PR. Accordingly, the following will provide a breakdown of the permanent residence fee list for economic immigration pathways published by IRCC.

Note: All fees listed in this article are in Canadian dollars

General economic immigration fees

According to IRCC, the following fees apply to each of the following situations:

• Agri-food pilot
• Atlantic immigration pilot
• Atlantic immigration program
• Express Entry - Canadian Experience Class (CEC), Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP) and Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs)
• Rural and northern immigration pilot
• Quebec-selected skilled workers

Application Processing Fee: $850.00

Including Spouse or Partner (Processing Fee): $850.00

Including a Dependent Child*: $230.00 (per child)

*Click here for IRCC’s glossary definition of a dependent child, which the immigration department clarifies is not a legal definition but rather a description intended to provide “explanations for different words [used] online.”

Temporary Resident (TR) to PR Pathway: Foreign nationals looking to become PRs in Canada after spending time in the country as a TR – on a study or work permit, for example – must pay the same types of fees as other economic immigration applicants (see above) but at a slightly reduced rate. TR to PR fees are as follows:

• Application Processing Fee: $570.00
• Including Spouse or Partner (Processing Fee): $570.00
• Including a Dependent Child: $155.00 (per child)

Other permanent residence fees

Permanent Resident Cards

Fee: $50.00

PR cards are a type of identification document that IRCC uses to prove a foreign national’s PR status. This card, which includes a picture of the cardholder, is also what Canadian PRs use as a travel document when entering Canada.

Visit this link for our dedicated page on PR Cards.

Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD)

Fee: $50.00

A PRTD is what Canadian permanent residents use to travel when they do not have a valid PR card. According to IRCC, PRs who “do not carry [a] PR card or PRTD may not be able to board [their] flight, train, bus or boat to Canada.” Click here for more information on PRTDs.

Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) 

Fee: $515.00

IRCC’s RPRF is a fee that most Canadian permanent residence applicants must pay when their application is approved (see list below for exceptions). This fee must be paid before becoming a PR in Canada, and IRCC offers applicants the option to pay this fee at the same time they pay their other application fees to avoid delays.

The RPRF will add $515.00 to a foreign national’s application processing fee ($850.00, as noted above), for a total of $1365.00. A separate RPRF fee would also apply to an applicant’s spouse or partner (if applicable).

Note that the RPRF applies in the same way to those pursuing PR in Canada through IRCC’s temporary resident to permanent resident pathway, which has a slightly reduced application processing fee (see above).

An applicant’s RPRF will be refunded if their permanent residence application is refused, or they choose to withdraw it.

Note: IRCC indicates that the RPRF is the only fee eligible for a refund after the department begins processing an application.

IRCC’s RPRF does not apply in the following situations:

• Dependent children of a principal applicant or sponsor
• Sponsorship applications for adopted children
• Sponsorship applications for an orphaned brother, sister, niece, nephew or grandchild
• Protected persons (including applicants eligible on humanitarian and compassionate grounds and convention refugees).

Biometrics (if applicable)

Fee (per person): $85.00

Fee (per family – two or more people): $170.00

Biometrics are the photographs and fingerprints that IRCC collects from immigration applicants “to strengthen [Canada’s] identity management”, working to enhance national security “by checking the applicant’s identity against Canadian criminal and immigration records.”

IRCC notes that $170.00 represents the maximum fee for a family of two or more people who are submitting biometrics and applying at the same time and place.

Click here for more information on biometrics, including who must submit them and where to find a biometrics collection centre.

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