Express Entry fees: what Canadian permanent residence costs you and your family

The right of permanent residence fee in the figure above comes back if you are refused or withdraw, and if you leave it unpaid, a fee rise in the meantime is yours to pay. So when you pay it is a real decision.

When you pay this fee matters. IRCC says it can be paid with your application fees to help reduce delays, and that if you paid it up front and the application is not approved, it will be refunded. If you do not pay it up front, IRCC contacts you later with instructions, and you pay the amount in force at that point: IRCC's fee-change page says that someone who applied without paying it must pay the new amount, even if they applied before the change. Paying early costs nothing if you are refused; waiting can cost you the next increase.

The processing fee behaves differently. It is refunded in full only if you withdraw before IRCC starts processing; after that, the right of permanent residence fee is among the few that can still be refunded.

The processing fee is set by the day IRCC receives your application, not the day you were invited to apply. IRCC adjusts its permanent residence fees every two years, and the latest change is dated above.

The lower figure above is what Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada charges one adult for permanent residence through Express Entry: a processing fee and a right of permanent residence fee. The higher figure adds the fee for fingerprints and a photo. It is the government's charge, paid to IRCC, not a consultant's fee. The funds figure shown with it is a different thing: the money a single applicant must show, which rises with each family member.

Who pays what

• Each adult, the main applicant and a spouse or partner, pays both the processing fee and the right of permanent residence fee.
• Each dependent child pays a smaller processing fee and no right of permanent residence fee.
• The fingerprint fee is charged per person, with a cap for a family applying together.

Some costs sit outside IRCC's fees entirely: the language test, the assessment of foreign education credentials, the medical exam, and police certificates. Each is paid to someone else.

Reading a quote for this route

A consultant's or lawyer's quote should keep IRCC's fees and the professional's own fee apart.

Goes to IRCC:

• The processing fee, the right of permanent residence fee and the fingerprint fee, for each person on the application.

Goes to the professional:

• The consultant's or lawyer's fee, itemised on its own.

Ask:

1. How many adults and children are on the application, and has each been counted?
2. Is the quote based on the fees in force on the day your application will arrive?
3. Does the quote assume you pay the right of permanent residence fee up front, and does the professional know it comes back if you are refused?
4. Which outside costs (language test, credential assessment, medical exam, police certificates) are in the quote?
5. Is your adviser authorised to charge for immigration help in Canada?

If you are holding a consultant's or lawyer's quote for this route, answer yes to the first question in the box below and it is read line by line against the official rules and what firms on file charge; no account is needed, and a PDF, a Word file or a photo will do. If you have a quoted total but no document, answer no and enter the total. The check does not look at your application or advise on it. In Canada, anyone you pay to represent or advise you must be a lawyer or paralegal of a provincial or territorial law society, a Quebec notary, or a consultant licensed by the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants.

General information, not legal advice.