Canada increases immigration fees

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

The fees affected by this increase include:

• Inadmissibility-related fees; and
• The International Experience Canada (IEC) work permit processing fee.

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

Individuals who submitted a paper application prior to this date may have to pay the difference, due to the delay between the application being sent and received.

Which specific fees have been increased?

Inadmissibility fees

Below, you can find the application categories affected by the recent changes to inadmissibility fees:

Authorization to return to Canada: Those wanting to return to Canada after being asked to leave, must apply for an Authorization to Return to Canada to do so legally. These applications are typically submitted along with another application (such as a work or study permit application).

Temporary resident permit: This document grants temporary entry into Canada for those who are inadmissible if they have a compelling reason to enter Canada and their need to do so outweighs their risk to Canadian society.

Criminal rehabilitation: You must be admissible to Canada to enter. But if at least five years have passed since you’ve completed the sentence for which you were deemed inadmissible, you may be able to apply to have your past criminal history permanently wiped. The fee to do so depends on the nature of your offence(s), specifically if it falls under criminality or serious criminality.

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

International Experience Canada fees

Under the IEC program, foreign nationals from select countries can get a Canadian work permit valid for up to two years through one of three categories:

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

Regardless of category, all participants are required to pay the work permit processing fee to receive an IEC work permit. See how the IEC work permit fee has changed as of December 1:

To get an IEC work permit, eligible foreign nationals must submit a candidate profile to IRRC, enter one or more IEC candidate pools, and then receive an invitation to apply in 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 can submit a profile when the pools open for the 2026 season.

To learn more about the IEC program and its categories, visit our dedicated webpage.

I paid the old fee, what should I do now?

If, prior to the fee changes, you mailed Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) a complete application, IRCC will send you a request to pay the difference between the two fees and instructions on how to submit your receipt.

To get your receipt, you can do the following:

• Calculate the difference between the old and new fee(s);
• Make the payment using IRCC’s online payment tool under the “Make an additional payment or pay other fees” category;
• Under “Quantity,” enter the total fee difference you are required to pay.
  • One receipt is given per payment.
  • You can pay all your fees in one transaction or through several.
• Submit the receipt by following the instructions IRCC sent you.

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