The Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) must be paid before the immigrant visa is issued overseas or before the applicant becomes a permanent resident in Canada. The amount of RPRF is currently C$490. If you applied for permanent residence from outside Canada, you will normally be required to pay the RPRF once the Visa Officer have made a positive assessment of your application.
The Right of Pemanent Residence Fee applies to all applicants for permanent residence except the following:
a dependent child of the sponsor or principal applicant; a child to be adopted by the sponsor; an orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild of the sponsor; a protected person or a member of the Protected Temporary Resident Class in Canada; a member of the Convention Refugee Abroad Class; a member of the Humanitarian Protected-Persons Abroad Class; a member of the Permit Holder Class, who has made an application for permanent residence, and who is the dependent child of another member of the Permit Holder Class; a member of the Permit Holder Class who is the dependent child of a permanent resident or Canadian citizen; a principal applicant in Canada, who has made an application on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds, and who is the dependent child of a permanent resident or Canadian citizen.
In some cases, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee may be required by the Visa Officer even before the assessment of your application. Those who filed a permanent residence visa application with Arranged Employment Opinion will normally receive their acknowledgement letter (file number) with instruction to pay the RPRF.
I have a client who filed his application with Arranged Employment Opinion last September 23, 2008. He received his file number yesterday, October 13, 2008, with the instruction to pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee.
Does it mean that his application is already approved?
No. On the acknowledgement letter, it was mentioned that a decision shall be made within six months processing period. Once approved, he will then be required to undergo medical examination. If the application was refused due to medical or any other reasons, the RPRF paid shall be refunded to the client.
Persons in Canada applying for permanent residence in Canada and those sponsoring their family, who are required to pay the RPRF, may avail of the Right of Permanent Residence Fee Loan. For more iformation about this loan program, visit servicecanada.gc.ca.
