Canada’s Department of Citizenship and Immigration had issued a notice on March 30 stating that it would increase the permanent residence fees for international residents seeking permanent residency there.

The notice said, “The permanent residence fees will increase at 9:00:00 a.m. Eastern daylight time on April 30, 2024, by the cumulative percentage increase to the Consumer Price Index for Canada, published by Statistics Canada, for the two previous years, rounded to the nearest five dollars.”

It added that the ‘Right of Permanent Residence Fee’ will increase from CAD 515 to CAD 575, which means a hike of about 12 per cent.

The permanent residence application process requires the submission of a specific fee. However, this financial obligation is waived for dependent children, providing relief for families seeking to establish permanent residency.

The fee will also increase for Federal Skilled Workers, — which several Indians apply for — Provincial Nominee Program, Quebec Skilled Workers, and Atlantic Immigration Class from CAD 850 to CAD 950. The fee is also applicable for accompanying spouses or common-law partners. For an accompanying dependency child, it increased from CAD 230 to CAD 260.

The fee for Business (federal and Quebec) rose from CAD 1,625 to CAD 1,810.

Under the family reunification immigration programme, the sponsorship fee, which applies to sponsors bringing in spouses/partners, children, parents, grandparents, and other relatives, has been raised from CAD 75 to CAD 85. Additionally, the application fees for principal applicants in this stream have seen an increase, jumping from CAD 490 to CAD 545.

As per CIC News, Canadian immigration news organisation, Canada issued 437,120 permanent residencies in 2022. India was the leading source country with 27 per cent of immigrants being from the country. A total of 118, 095 immigrants received permanent residency in Canada in 2022.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller said recently that the Canadian government was trying to reduce temporary residents. He said, “We need to ensure the number of temporary residents entering the country is at a sustainable level. Starting this fall for the first time, we will expand the immigration levels plan to include both temporary resident arrivals and permanent resident arrivals.”