True or False - Fees

Citizenship and Immigration Canada makes a 10 percent profit on service fees charged.

This is false: Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not make a profit from service fees.

The facts

Fees charged by CIC help to cover a portion of the cost of processing applications. The fees are established under federal regulations.

As a general matter, fees charged for services must relate to the cost of providing the services. As a matter of policy, Citizenship and Immigration Canada does not make a profit from the service fees that it charges. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has not charged service fees which exceed the total cost of providing the services.

The amount of $36.66 represents only the costs incurred where the application is processed. The $75 charged by CIC recognizes all of the costs of providing the service. For example, the service fee includes the costs of services that are provided by other departments and agencies as well as other indirect costs. These fees are not a tax. They ensure that the cost of services is borne by those who use them, and not by other taxpayers.

The level of service fees is set to recover as much of the cost of each service as reasonable.

CIC fees are deposited in the government’s central revenue fund. These funds are not available to the department.

A list of Citizenship and Immigration of Canada fees can be found at www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp . You can also find additional details on Immigration and Citizenship fees in CIC’s annual Departmental Performance Report. This report provides information on all of the fees charged by the department.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada charges fees for various services that the Department provides. In addition to service fees, CIC also charges a fee for the right of Canadian citizenship and the right of permanent residence. These fees recognize the benefits acquired by an immigrant who becomes a permanent resident or a citizen of Canada. They are not based on the cost of providing a service. In Budget 2006, the Government of Canada reduced the Right of Permanent Resident Fee by half to $490.

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