Federal government raises Canadian citizenship fees

At midnight on March 31, 2025, the right of citizenship fee for adults was increased.

Permanent residents who have applied—or will apply—for Canadian citizenship on or after this date will now be subject to the new fee of $119.75.

Those who have submitted a complete Canadian citizenship application online before midnight on March 31, and paid the $100 fee, will not be affected by this change.

Those who have submitted paper applications before this date may be required to pay the difference.

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Who is affected?

To apply for Canadian citizenship, permanent residents 18 years of age and older are required to pay two fees, including a:

Processing fee ($530); and
Right of citizenship fee (now $119.75).

This means that adults can expect to pay a total of $649.75 instead of the old $630 fee that was in place for this demographic prior to March 31.

Stateless adults born to a Canadian parent must also pay the increased right of citizenship fee.

Minors (those under 18) are only required to pay a $100 processing fee when applying for citizenship—and this fee has remained unchanged.

Becoming a Canadian citizen through naturalization

Individuals can become Canadian citizens through naturalization if they fulfill specific criteria outlined by the Canadian Citizenship Act.

They are required to:

Have permanent resident status;
Meet Canada’s minimum physical presence requirements of having resided in the country for at least 1,095 days (three years) within the past five years prior to applying;
File their taxes (if they are legally required to do) within that five-year period;
Pass a Canadian citizenship test if they are between the ages of 18 and 54; and
Demonstrate English or French language proficiency (CLB 4).

Minors are exempt from the physical presence requirement.

Individuals are granted Canadian citizenship in a virtual or in-person ceremony. At the ceremony, those ages 14 years or older must take the oath of citizenship.

CanadaVisa has a free citizenship eligibility calculator which permanent residents can use to check if they qualify for Canadian citizenship.

At the time of writing, the current processing time for Canadian citizenship applications is approximately eight months.

Schedule a Free Canadian Citizenship Consultation with the Cohen Immigration
Law Firm