Applications for permanent residence
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
The basic rule of cost recovery is that all proposed immigrants are subject to payment of a processing fee, unless there has been an exemption identified. Where family members are concerned, the determining factors for applying the cost recovery fee are:
- age
- dependency
- status as a spouse or common-law partner.
Place of residence is not a factor in determining the processing fee.
Collection of fees
Fees shall be collected only for persons intending to immigrate. It is a requirement to list all family members as defined in the section R1(3) on an application for permanent residence. However, care must be taken not to collect processing fees for those family members who will not be immigrating [R294]. The determinant for application of the maximum fee is the combination of the client’s class, age and marital status.
Since the introduction of Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), the fee for the permanent resident card (PR card) is included in the fee for all applications for permanent residence. Only those clients who landed before the coming into force of IRPA or who acquired permanent resident status under IRPA but did not meet the regulatory requirement to pick up their PR card within 180 days of production will be required to pay the separate $50 PR card processing fee. See Permanent Resident Card.
For more information on fees, please refer to the Fee Schedule.