Canadian citizenship application fee just skyrocketed

Applying for Canadian citizenship? Be prepared to pay even more due to a recent fee hike.

As if applying for citizenship wasn't expensive enough, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced that it has increased its fees. Currently, the processing fee for citizenship applications is $530, which remains unchanged. However, the right of citizenship fee just went up by 20 per cent.

"On March 31, 2025, at midnight ET, the right of citizenship fee for adult applicants increased from $100 to $119.75," reads the IRCC website.

That means that adults aged 18 and over applying for citizenship must now pay $649.75 in fees.

Fees for other citizenship applications remain the same.

Citizenship application fees for minors under the age of 18 cost $100. Stateless adults aged 18 or over who were born to Canadian parents pay a right of citizenship fee of $119.75.

What if you've already submitted your application?

IRCC will instantly receive applications submitted online, but make sure to check that you paid the correct fee amount.

However, if you submitted your application by mail, you must account for the delay between when it was sent and when IRCC received your application. If the fees changed while your application was in the mail, IRCC won't reject your application if you meet the following criteria:

• You submitted a complete application
• You paid the old fee before the March 31 increase
• You mailed your application before the fee change

Paying the difference

If you have already submitted your application, which was in transit before the March 31 fee increase, you will be expected to pay the difference between the old and new right of citizenship fees.

To do so, calculate the difference you must pay for yourself and other family members. You can submit your payment to IRCC's online payment tool by entering the fee difference under "quantity." If you're paying the difference for more than one person, you can pay in multiple transactions or submit the total for all applicants in a single transaction.

Then, to finish the transaction, you must create an account or sign in. Once done, submit your receipt to IRCC according to their instructions.

We have contacted IRCC for more information about the fee increase.

There have been other immigration changes recently.

IRCC published new processing times and stated that it aims to process at least 80 per cent of complete applications within service standards.

In March, Service Canada announced that applicants would get a full refund if passport renewals weren't processed within 30 business days.