The Fee List

The authorities are introducing the new fees payable by employers and open work permit applicants with effect from February 21, 2015. In addition, the authorities are also implementing a new process that employers would need to follow when they hire Labour Market Impact Assessment exempt foreign workers.

The Changes to Strengthen Employer Accountability Under the International Mobility Program

The Employer Compliance System and Fee

Most applications require applicants to pay the appropriate fees. With effect from February 21, 2015, employers hiring foreign nationals will need to submit information about:

• Their business or organisation and,
• The Offer of Employment form

In addition, these employers would also need to pay the relevant fees to Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC). However, this would only apply if the employers hire foreign nationals who are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process.

From February 21, 2015, foreign nationals who are exempt from the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process would not be able to et employer-specific work permits if their employers do not:

• Submit the required information and,
• Pay the relevant fees before the submission of the work permit application

The authorities have set the employer compliance fee at $230. Employers would need to pay this fee online. The authorities believe that the fees collected would help in offsetting the cost of introducing robust employer compliance activities that typically feature inspections of thousands of employers.

Situations could arise where an inspection finds certain employers to be non-compliant with the specified prescriptions. In this scenario, these employers could face:

• Administrative monetary penalties
• Bans from hiring foreign workers and,
• Criminal investigations and prosecution (in serious cases)

The adoption of this system would ensure that all employers would face the same level of scrutiny concerning their hiring and treatment of foreign workers. This is regardless of whether the employers hire Labour Market Impact Assessment exempt foreign nationals or temporary workers through the Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) process that has determined that there are no Canadians available for the job.

It is worth mentioning that the employer compliance fee does not apply to employers hiring foreign nationals who have open work permits. This is because open work permits enable the holders to work for any Canadian employers.

Situations could arise where foreign nationals who hold open work permits want to apply for new permits for specific employers. In this scenario, the employers would need to pay the appropriate employer compliance fees. They would need to submit the Offer of Employment forms as well. Only then would the foreign nationals be able to apply for the new work permits.

The New Fee for Open Work Permit Applicants

With effect from February 21, 2015, open work permits applicants would need to pay a fee of $100. The applicants would need to pay this fee at the same time when they pay the work permit processing fee. In addition, the applicants have the ability to pay this fee online too. The authorities believe that the fees collected would help in offsetting the cost of new initiatives for improving data collection on:

• The role of open work permit holders in the Canadian labour market and,
• Increased promotional activities for encouraging open work permit holders to apply for permanent residence

The International Mobility Program streams typically feature open work permits rather than employer-specific work permits. These program streams typically include:

• The working holiday portion of International Experience Canada
• The Post-Graduation Work Permit Program
• Spouses or common-law partners of highly skilled foreign workers and international students and,
• Certain foreign nationals who are already in Canada awaiting the finalisation of their applications for permanent residence

The Fees for Citizenship

Please note that all the fees specified in this section are in Canadian dollars.

The Fees for Citizenship

The Processing Fees for Grant of Citizenship

The Fees for Change of Citizenship

The Fees for Citizenship Status Documents

Fees for Applications to Stay in Canada as a Permanent Resident

Fees for Applications for Electronic Travel Authorisations, Visas and Permits

International Mobility Program – Authorisation to Work Without a Work Permit