- IRCC is increasing permanent residence fees for all immigration streams effective April 30, 2026.
- The Right of Permanent Residence Fee rises to $600 to cover inflation and operational costs.
- New revenue will fund portal modernization and backlog reduction efforts to improve processing times.
(CANADA) — Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced permanent residence fee increases effective April 30, 2026, raising charges across economic, family, business, humanitarian and other streams for applications received on or after that date.
The new Canada PR Costs include a rise in the Right of Permanent Residence Fee to $600 from $575, along with increases in several application categories that IRCC said are tied to inflation, rising operational costs and growing demand under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Those changes are biennial adjustments calculated using Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index. The increases range from $15 to $85 per category.
Among the largest changes, the fee for the business category rises to $1,895 from $1,810. The federal high skilled category, which covers Express Entry, PNP, Quebec Skilled Workers, Atlantic Immigration and most economic pilots, increases to $990 from $950.
Family Reunification applications for a sponsored principal applicant will cost $570 instead of $545. Protected Persons applications rise to $660 from $635, while Humanitarian/Compassionate or Public Policy applications also increase to $660 from $635.
Permit Holders will pay $390, up from $375. Across the schedule, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee remains one of the most closely watched charges because it applies to the principal applicant and spouse or partner.
For accompanying family members, spouses or partners typically match the principal applicant rates in high-skilled and business categories, with the new amount listed at $990. Dependent children rise to $270 from $260 in most economic streams, or to $90 from $85 in family reunification.
IRCC also increased the Family Sponsorship Fee to $90 from $85. In a related change, the citizenship Right Fee for adult applicants rose to $123 from $119.75 effective March 31, 2026, while the processing fee remained unchanged at $530.
The department projects the permanent residence fee changes will generate $34 million annually. That money is intended for online portal modernization and backlog reduction.
The moves place fresh attention on Canada PR Costs at a time when applicants often budget for several stages of the immigration process at once. For many families, the application fee, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee and accompanying dependent charges now add up to a higher total before other immigration-related expenses are considered.
IRCC framed the fee changes as part of a regular system rather than a one-off revision. The department said the adjustments are made every two years under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and are tied to inflation and operational costs.
That formula matters because it links immigration fees to a broader price index rather than setting them through an isolated policy change. The result this year is a set of increases spread across several permanent residence pathways instead of a change concentrated in one stream.
In practical terms, applicants in economic streams will see the change quickly. A principal applicant in the federal high skilled category now faces a fee of $990, and an accompanying spouse or partner typically faces the same amount, with dependent children at $270 in most economic streams.
Business applicants face the highest principal applicant charge listed in the updated schedule at $1,895. That category carries the largest dollar increase in the package, at $85.
Families seeking reunification also face higher charges, though the increase is smaller in absolute terms. The sponsored principal applicant fee rises by $25 to $570, dependent children in that stream move to $90, and the Family Sponsorship Fee increases by $5 to $90.
Applicants using humanitarian pathways face an increase as well. Protected Persons, along with Humanitarian/Compassionate or Public Policy principal applicants, now each pay $660, up $25.
Permit Holders see the smallest increase among the listed permanent residence categories. Their fee rises by $15 to $390.
A separate shift in citizenship charges took effect a month earlier. The adult citizenship Right Fee increased on March 31, 2026 to $123, while the $530 processing fee did not change.
The timing of the permanent residence changes creates a clear dividing line for applicants who have not yet submitted. Applications received before April 30, 2026 use the old rates.
That transitional rule gives applicants a narrow window in which the previous fees still apply. After that date, the new charges govern all applications received by the department.
IRCC also set out a stricter consequence for applicants who do not pay the correct amount at the outset. No refunds are available for partial payments.
That means the payment date alone does not settle the issue if an application arrives on or after April 30, 2026 without the full updated fee. The rule places added weight on checking the correct amount before filing.
The policy case for the increases rests on cost recovery and administration. IRCC said the added revenue will support online portal modernization and efforts to reduce application backlogs, two areas that directly affect how applicants move through the system.
Modernizing online systems has become part of the routine language around immigration processing, but in this case the department attached a figure to the plan. It expects $34 million annually from the revised permanent residence fees.
Critics, including immigration analysts, warned the increases may make applications harder to afford for lower-income applicants. They said international students could be among those deterred by the higher costs.
That criticism points to the cumulative nature of immigration fees. Even where a single category increases by $15, $25 or $40, applicants with spouses, partners or children can face a larger household total.
The change may be especially visible in economic streams because spouses or partners typically match the principal applicant rate in high-skilled and business categories. A household applying through one of those routes now confronts higher charges at several points in the same file.
For applicants trying to estimate Canada PR Costs in 2026, the revised schedule also highlights how fees now move on different timelines. The citizenship Right Fee changed on March 31, 2026, while the permanent residence increases begin on April 30, 2026.
That staggered timing matters for people moving from one immigration stage to another. Someone planning both a permanent residence application and later citizenship-related payments now faces updated figures in both areas, even though the citizenship processing fee remains at $530.
The Right of Permanent Residence Fee remains a central figure in the overall bill. Its rise to $600 from $575 applies to the principal applicant and spouse or partner, making it one of the most visible changes in the 2026 fee package.
Because the Right of Permanent Residence Fee sits alongside stream-specific application charges, applicants often consider it separately when calculating their total. In 2026, that figure now joins the broader set of higher IRCC charges across permanent residence categories.
The department’s reasoning also places the increases within a recurring framework. By tying fee revisions to the Consumer Price Index and operational costs, IRCC presented the new amounts as part of an ongoing mechanism under the regulations rather than a temporary response.
Still, the effect for applicants is immediate. Economic, family and humanitarian files received on or after April 30, 2026 will all be assessed under the higher schedule, with no refunds for partial payments and no continuation of the old rates beyond applications received before that date.
For prospective immigrants and sponsors, the updated fees sharpen the financial planning required before submission. They also place new focus on the balance Ottawa is trying to strike between funding a busier immigration system and keeping permanent residence within reach for applicants who already face rising costs elsewhere in the process.
