Canada increases immigration fees

The federal government has increased several immigration fees, effective from 1 December 2025.

Fees affected by this increase include:

• Fees related to inadmissibility; and
• Work permit processing fees International Experience Canada (IEC).

Those who have submitted applications online and paid the old fees before midnight on 1 December will not be affected by this change.

Individuals who submitted paper applications before this date may have to pay the difference, due to delays between sending and receiving applications.

Which specific immigration fees have increased?

Inadmissibility

Below are the application categories affected by the recent change to fees inadmissibility:

Authorisation to Return to Canada: Those who wish to return to Canada after being required to leave must apply for an Authorisation to Return to Canada to do so legally. These applications are usually submitted alongside another application (such as a work or study permit application).

Temporary Resident Permit: This document grants temporary entry to Canada for those who are inadmissible if they have compelling reasons to enter Canada and their needs outweigh the risks to Canadian society.

Criminal rehabilitation: You must be admissible to Canada to enter. However, if at least 5 years have passed since you completed your sentence for which you were deemed inadmissible, you may apply to permanently erase your past criminal history. The fee to do this depends on the nature of your crime, specifically if it falls under criminality or serious criminality.

Restoration of status as a visitor, student or worker: If your temporary resident status expires and you did not apply for an extension, you must leave Canada or apply to restore your status within 90 days of losing it.

International Experience Canada

Under the IEC programme, foreign nationals from select countries can receive a Canada work permit valid for up to 2 years through one of 3 categories:

• Working Holiday.
• Young Professionals.
• International Co-op (Internship).

Regardless of the category, all participants must pay a work permit processing fee to receive an IEC work permit. See how IEC work permit fees have changed since 1 December:

To receive an IEC work permit, eligible foreign nationals must submit a candidate profile to IRCC, enter one or more IEC pools, and subsequently receive an invitation to apply during the next invitation round.

You cannot apply for an IEC work permit without an invitation. The IEC pools for the 2025 season are closed; to be considered for an IEC work permit, you may submit a profile when the pools open for the 2026 season.

I have paid the old fees, what should I do now?

If you submitted a complete application before the fee change, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) IRCC will send a request for the difference between the two fees and instructions on how to submit your receipt.

To obtain a receipt, you may follow these steps:

• Calculate the difference between;
• Make the payment using the IRCC online payment tool under the category “Pay additional fees or other fees”;
• Under “Amount”, enter the total difference you must pay.
  • A receipt is issued for each payment.
  • You may pay the full amount in one transaction or through multiple transactions.
• Submit the receipt by following the instructions sent to you by IRCC.