Immigration Costs

Moving to Canada can be expensive.

Here is an example of a budget of an individual (roughly) outlining costs to immigrate to Canada as independent immigrants. Please note that the airline ticket price will depend on which airline you fly with.

Costs of Permanent Residence (With job offers)

In 2016, research was completed about the legal fees of a permanent residence application for a skilled worker. The stats can be seen here. The research showed that the going rate for skilled worker applications was:

* The national average is about CAD4993
* The Ontario average is about CAD5063
* In Large firms it is about CAD5367

Matrixvisa legal fees are slightly below these 2006 fees. When an immigrant comes with a job offer the first payment of the 3 payments is payable in the country of residence (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Philippines, etc.) When an applicant emigrates with a job offer the second and third payments are made from Canada.

Then government application fees are:

  • CAD 825 per adult when the application is submitted to the federal government after arrival in Canada
  • CAD 225 per child when the application is submitted to the federal government after arrival in Canada
  • CAD 500 immigration tax per adult is payable at the end of the process (12 to 24 month after arrival).
  • CAD 250 is required for a language test
  • CAD 170 biometric fees are payable for a family and CAD85 for an individual. That is normally paid after arrival in Canada.
  • CAD 200 per person is payable for medical examinations. That is normally paid after arrival in Canada.

Cost of Work Permit

In 2016, research was complete about the legal fees of a work permit application for a skilled worker. The stats can be seen here. The research showed that the going rate for a work permit was CAD2500

If a person emigrates with a job offer, an application for a work permit must be submitted as permanent residence applications takes too long to process (12 to 24 months)

There are a high refusal rate of work permits and other types of applications at the Canadian High Commission in Pretoria.  Many people suspected something was wrong with these types of applications. Matrixvisa obtained official statistics of these refusals. See point 37- 43 at this link https://www.matrixvisa.com/about-us/ourefforts/  We took the matter up with the Minister of Immigration via a large industry organization during 2019. We hope that in 2022 the unfair refusals will be less of an issue. We are already seeing improvements.

The legal fees for the WP is CAD2500 for the family. That is paid in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Philippines, etc.

The government fees are:

  • CAD 155 x 2 for work permits for 2 adults
  • CAD 150 per school going child
  • CAD 100 per infant/toddler
  • CAD 170 for biometrics per family

The above-mentioned total does not include other costs in Canada, such as the replacement of furniture and appliances, getting a driver’s license, buying car, etc

Other Scenarios where these costs will be less:

The cost for a single person without dependents are obviously much less. Similarly the cost for a person who will be sponsored by family already in Canada; or a family coming to Canada where the principle applicant has an permanent job offer in Canada – is also less.

The high cost of migrating might look rather dark, but look at “Immigration A-Z” to see why it is worth the effort and expense.