Candidates Still Awaiting the Abolishment of the Application Fees
Some citizenship applicants are still waiting on the federal government to lift the citizenship fee, which currently stands at $630. It covers a $ 530 processing fee, which hiked from $100 under the preceding conservative government and an additional $ 100′ right of citizenship’ fee. Canada’s prime minister, John Trudeau, had made a pre-election promise in 2019 to abolish this fee. Unfortunately, with the coronavirus crisis, Ottawa was forced to step in and provide financial assistance to numerous people who lost their jobs following the Covid19 restrictions.
Nonetheless, many permanent residents are still holding back from applying for permanent residence as they anticipate the news on removal of the application fee. Even the cheaper children’s fees don’t seem to make any significant difference. For instance, a family of four would still need to pay an application fee amounting to $1460, having met all the other requirements.
The cancellation of immigration operations at the beginning of the coronavirus disaster led to a significant plunge in the number of new permanent residents. The number significantly plummeted in March, April, May, and July. As a matter of fact, only five people acquired permanent residents in April compared to the 26730 in February. In June 1656 candidates became permanent citizens as virtual operations significantly augmented the numbers. However, the numbers are relatively low compared to the 20667 permanent residents welcomed in June 2019.
