It now costs more to apply for permanent residence in Canada

Planning on applying for permanent residence in Canada? It just got a little pricier.

Starting on Thursday, April 30, a number of permanent residence application fees are increasing.

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the hike in March. The agency says the fee increase is to help "continue delivering timely, reliable services and keep pace with inflation."

Here are the permanent residence fees that are going up starting today:

• Right of permanent residence fee – increase by $25 from $575 to $600
• Provincial Nominee Program – increase by $40 from $950 to $990
• Business – increase by $85 from $1,810 to $1,895
• Family class – increase by $25 from $545 to $570
• Protected persons – increase by $25 from $635 to $660
• Humanitarian and compassionate grounds or public policy measures – increase by $25 from $635 to $660
• Permit holders – increase by $15 from $375 to $390

You will need to pay the new fees if you submit an application on or after April 30.

According to the IRCC, under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, permanent residence fees are adjusted every two years to offset the cost of running the program and respond to growing demand.

In March, Canada reportedly began rolling out a measure offering tens of thousands of foreign workers permanent residence over 2026 and 2027.

In an exclusive interview with the Toronto Star, Minister of Immigration Lena Metlege Diab revealed that the federal government had soft-launched a program offering 33,000 skilled temporary foreign workers permanent residence. The plan was first announced in November in Budget 2025.

She did not disclose how many foreign workers have been offered permanent residency, but stated that Ottawa would share more details in April.

IRCC spokesperson Matthew Krupovich did not confirm with us whether the permanent residence rollout had begun, but did not deny it. He clarified that this move was "a one-time measure, not to be confused with a program" that will accelerate the transition of up to 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027.

"This initiative will target individuals who are already contributing to Canada's economy across a wide range of in-demand sectors, including in rural areas and known labour gaps, acknowledging their strong roots in their communities and their contributions to Canada's economy," stated Krupovich.

The Liberal government's 2025 budget emphasized bringing immigration back to sustainable levels and shrinking the non-permanent resident population. The 2026 to 2028 immigration plan targets keep permanent resident arrivals at less than one per cent of the population beyond 2027 and aims to reduce the temporary population to less than five per cent of Canada's population by the end of 2027.

In 2026, the federal government aims to offer permanent residence to 109,000 high-skilled foreign workers. Those numbers increase slightly in 2027 and 2028 to 111,000.