Canadian immigration fees in 2026 — what each application costs

You've budgeted $850 for the Express Entry application fee. By the time you submit, you've already spent twice that on language tests, credential assessment, and medical exams. The government fee turns out to be the smallest part of what Canadian immigration actually costs.

Most applicants budget for the obvious fees and get caught off guard by everything else. Tests expire and need repeating. Police certificates cost different amounts depending on which country issues them. Medical exams vary by age, family size, and which panel physician you see.

What IRCC Actually Charges for Applications

The government fees are straightforward. IRCC publishes current fees on canada.ca, and they don't change often. Express Entry costs $850 for the main applicant plus $850 for a spouse and $230 for each child under 22.

Provincial nominee programs add their own fee on top. Some programs waive their fee for certain occupation categories, some charge everyone the same amount. The fee gets paid to the province when you accept the nomination, before you submit to IRCC.

Study permits, work permits, visitor visas each carry their own fees plus biometrics. The biometrics fee covers your whole family if you're applying together. These are the easy costs to plan for because they're fixed and published.

The Costs Nobody Warns You About

Language tests cost several hundred dollars depending on which test you take and where you take it. The results are valid for two years, but if your application takes longer than expected, you pay again for a retake.

Educational credential assessments vary by organization and how many degrees you need assessed. Processing times differ too, so the cheaper option might mean waiting longer for results.

Medical exams vary by age and family size. The panel physician sets their own fees within guidelines, so the same exam costs different amounts in different cities.

Police certificates range from free to expensive per certificate depending on which country issued them. If you've lived in multiple countries, you need certificates from each place where you spent six months or more since turning 18. Some countries process these quickly, others take months. If a certificate takes too long and your medical exam expires while you're waiting, you pay for the medical exam again.

When Things Go Wrong and Cost More

Most applications don't get submitted on the first try. Something needs to be redone. A test score isn't high enough and needs to be retaken. The employment letter doesn't match the NOC description and HR needs to rewrite it.

The honest version is that test retakes cost the full amount again. Language test providers don't give partial credit if you improve three sections but drop on the fourth. You pay the full fee for the whole test again. Language scores can drop between test attempts even when your English improves.

Document replacements add up quickly. Need a new educational credential assessment because your first one was missing a transcript? You pay again. Police certificate expired while you waited for other documents? Some countries charge again for a replacement, others don't.

Professional Help Costs What Professional Help Costs

Immigration lawyers charge by the hour. Immigration consultants often charge flat fees for complete application assistance. The decision usually comes down to how confident you feel about getting the details right on your own, and how much your time is worth relative to the risk of a refusal.

Document review services cost less than full representation. A professionally reviewed employment letter catches the clause-by-clause NOC matching that trips up applications. That's often enough if the rest of your documentation is straightforward.

What Family Applications Actually Cost

A family of four pays government fees for two adults plus two children. Add biometrics for the family. But language tests cost more if both adults take them. Educational credential assessments cost more if both adults need them. Medical exams scale with family size.

The government fees represent roughly half of the total cost for a straightforward family application. If anything needs to be redone, or if you pay for professional help, the government portion drops to a quarter or less of your total immigration expenses.

The Timing Cost Nobody Calculates

Immigration applications happen over months or years. Tests expire. Documents expire. Your spouse gets a job offer in a different province than where you originally planned to settle. Your employer restructures and can't support your work permit extension.

These timing issues don't just delay your application. Replacement tests, updated medical exams, new police certificates from countries you visit during processing. Flight changes because processing takes longer than expected. Temporary residence extensions because your current status expires before the permanent residence decision comes through.

Immigration happens on immigration time, not your preferred timeline. The budget that works accounts for that.