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Canadian Citizenship Fee: $653 for Adults and What It Covers

On the IRCC fee list (date modified 21 September 2026), the citizenship application fee is $653 for an adult, which includes the processing fee and the $123 right of citizenship fee, and $100 for a minor under 18. A citizenship certificate is $75. IRCC refunds the full amount if processing has not started.

The Canadian citizenship fee looks like one number, but it is made of two parts for adults and one for children, and the fee list has several other citizenship charges that are easy to confuse with it. People also ask what happens to the money if they change their mind, or if the application is returned.

This guide reads the citizenship section of the IRCC fee list as modified on 21 September 2026, and IRCC's page on applying for citizenship (page details dated 21 April 2026). It sets out each amount, what is inside the adult fee, how payment works for families and groups, and what IRCC says about refunds. It describes how the fees work. It does not say whether a reader is eligible for citizenship.

Fees are indexed and change. Read the fee list on the day you pay. For the application form itself, see our guide to CIT 0002.

The citizenship fees on the list

The fee list's citizenship section has two parts. The first is "Citizenship - application fees", in Canadian dollars:

  • Adult (18 and over): $653.00. IRCC's note says this amount includes the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee.
  • Stateless adult (18 or over) born to a Canadian parent: $123.00. The note says this amount includes the right of citizenship fee.
  • Minor (under 18): $100.00. The note says this amount includes the processing fee.

The second part is "Other citizenship fees and services":

  • Citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship): $75.00.
  • Search for your record of citizenship: $75.00.
  • Resume your citizenship (18 and over): $530.00.
  • Resume your citizenship (under 18): $100.00.
  • Renounce your citizenship: $100.00.
  • Right of Citizenship: $123.00.

Each line is a separate application or service. The $75 certificate is the document that proves someone is a citizen, which is a different thing from applying to become one. The $75 record search is a request for IRCC to look for a record. The resume and renounce lines apply to people who are changing their status as citizens.

What is inside the $653

For an adult, IRCC's note on the fee list says the $653 includes the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee. The right of citizenship fee appears on the list as its own line at $123.00. Since the stateless-adult line is also $123.00 and is described as including only the right of citizenship fee, that line is consistent with the $123 being one component.

The fee list does not print the processing component of the adult fee as a separate number. If you subtract $123 from $653 you get $530, but the list does not label $530 as the processing fee, and the resume-citizenship line for adults is also $530. Treat the subtraction as arithmetic, not as a published figure.

For a minor, the $100 includes only the processing fee. The list does not charge a right of citizenship fee on the minor line, in the text we read.

This split matters because of the refund rules described below, which treat the right of citizenship fee differently from the rest.

It also matters when the fee list and a program page seem to disagree. IRCC's application page for citizenship shows each fee as an error message on the day we read it ("Error loading fee"), and sends readers to the fee list. The fee list is the page to trust for the amounts.

How payment works

IRCC's page on applying for citizenship describes how to pay.

Online. The page says to check the instructions in the payment section of the online account.

Paper. The page tells paper applicants to pay only when they are ready to submit the application, and to print the receipt and include it with the application.

Groups. For group applications, the page says one person can pay and upload one receipt for everyone, or each person can pay separately.

Partial payment. The page says that if you do not pay, or only partially pay, the fee, IRCC will return your application to you. So an underpayment is not a small problem: it can mean the application is sent back. This is why the line you choose matters. A minor under 18 is $100, and an adult is $653. Mixing them up in either direction causes trouble, either a returned application or an overpayment that has to be refunded.

Overpayment. The page says that if you overpay, IRCC will automatically refund the extra amount as soon as possible.

Who gets the refund. The page says IRCC issues the refund to the person named in the "Payer Information" section of the receipt. If a relative pays on your behalf, the details on the receipt decide where any refund goes.

Acknowledgement of receipt. IRCC says that if you receive an acknowledgement of receipt letter or email, that means it has started processing the application.

What IRCC says about refunds

IRCC's citizenship application page sets out refund rules. In summary, as the page describes them:

  • Before processing starts. IRCC refunds the full amount you paid if it has not yet started to process your application.
  • Withdrawal. The page says IRCC will refund you if you withdraw your application. What is refunded depends on whether processing had started.
  • After processing starts. The page describes a refund of the right of citizenship fee for adult applications, and no refund for a minor's application.
  • If the application is not approved. The page again refers to the right of citizenship fee being refunded for adult applications, and no refund for a minor's application.
  • Overpayments. Refunded automatically, as above.

We summarise these in our own words because the page applies the rules in several places and the exact wording is worth reading before you rely on it. The takeaway is that the right of citizenship fee, the $123 inside an adult's $653, is the part that comes back in the situations the page describes, while the processing part generally does not once processing has begun. The minor's $100 is a processing fee with no right of citizenship component, and the page says there is no refund of it on those grounds.

Do not treat this as a promise. The refund steps and the cases they cover are on IRCC's pages, including the fee list's "How to get a refund" section. Read them for your own situation.

Worked examples with the published figures

These examples add up published amounts only. They say nothing about who is eligible.

One adult. $653.

Two adults applying together. $1,306. They can pay together with one receipt or separately.

Two adults and two minors. $1,306 for the adults plus $200 for the minors is $1,506.

An adult who needs a citizenship certificate afterwards. The certificate is a separate $75 line. Whether a person needs one is a question for IRCC's pages on proof of citizenship.

A stateless adult born to a Canadian parent. $123, as the list shows, rather than $653.

A person resuming citizenship. $530 for an adult and $100 for a minor, a different application from the standard one.

A person renouncing. $100.

Wrong amount for a child. A parent who pays $653 for a minor has overpaid by $553. IRCC's page says it refunds overpayments automatically. A parent who pays $100 for an adult has underpaid, and the page says the application may be returned.

Costs outside the list. Passport fees are not on the citizenship list. IRCC's fee list points to a separate page for Canadian passports and travel documents. Language test and document costs are paid to the providers, and IRCC's guide for your application lists what documents are asked for.

Fees are one question; eligibility is another

A fee does not buy a result. Paying $653 does not mean an adult meets the requirements. The Citizenship Act sets those out, and our guide to the 1,095-day rule explains how the physical presence requirement is written. Two of the matters people often misjudge, residence days and the status of a permanent resident, are covered in our guides to the PR residency obligation and to renewing a PR card.

Where the fee interacts with advice:

  • Using a representative is optional. A licensed consultant or a lawyer charges a separate fee, set out in a written agreement before work starts. Our consultant cost guide explains what to expect from that agreement.
  • Free help exists in some forms, such as settlement agencies and legal clinics, but we do not name them here. Check any provider against the College's or the law society's register, using our guide to checking an RCIC licence.
  • Anyone who asks you to pay the government fee to a personal account is not following IRCC's process.

Finally, check whether the amounts have moved since 21 September 2026. IRCC adjusts some fees on a schedule, and the fee list's "date modified" shows when it last changed.

If you want a regulated adviser to look at your own documents, the Migratio directory lists licensed Canadian immigration consultants (RCICs) and lawyers, with their College or law society details so you can check the register yourself. Migratio is a directory and booking service. It is not an immigration consultant and does not give advice on individual cases.

Questions people ask

How much is the Canadian citizenship application fee?

The IRCC fee list dated 21 September 2026 shows $653.00 for an adult (18 and over), including the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee, and $100.00 for a minor under 18.

What is the right of citizenship fee?

It is $123.00 on the fee list and is included inside the adult application fee of $653. The stateless-adult line, $123.00, includes only the right of citizenship fee.

How much is a Canadian citizenship certificate?

The fee list shows $75.00 for a citizenship certificate (proof of citizenship) and $75.00 for a search for your record of citizenship.

Do I get a refund if I withdraw my citizenship application?

IRCC's citizenship application page says it refunds the full amount if processing has not started, and describes a refund of the right of citizenship fee for adult applications, but not for a minor's application, once processing has started. Read the page for the exact rules.

What happens if I pay the wrong amount?

IRCC's page says that if you do not pay, or only partially pay, the fee, it will return your application. If you overpay, it says IRCC will refund the extra amount automatically.

Can one person pay for a whole family?

IRCC's page says that for group applications one person can pay and upload one receipt for everyone, or each person can pay separately.

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-09.

Related guides

  • CIT 0002: the adult citizenship application, what each question asks and why applications are returned — CIT 0002 is the paper application for Canadian citizenship for adults. The IRCC fee list shows $653 for an adult, covering the processing fee and the right of citizenship fee. The Citizenship Act asks for at least 1,095 days of physical presence in the five years before applying, and IRCC returns a paper application signed more than 90 days before it receives it.
  • Canadian citizenship requirements: the 1,095-day rule, tax filing, language and the test — Under section 5(1) of the Citizenship Act an adult applicant must be a permanent resident, have been physically present in Canada for at least 1,095 days in the five years before applying, have met any tax-filing requirement for three years, and, if aged 18 to 54, show language ability and pass the knowledge test. Days before permanent residence count at half value, up to a cap.
  • Canadian Immigration Fees 2026: The IRCC List, Explained — The IRCC fee list (date modified 21 September 2026) sets the government fees for most applications: for example $100 for a visitor visa, $150 for a study permit, $155 for a work permit, $1,590 for an economic permanent residence application including the $600 right of permanent residence fee, and $653 for an adult citizenship application. Medical exams, language tests, police certificates and representative fees are not on it.
  • PR Residency Obligation: The 730-Day Rule and What Happens If You Miss It — A permanent resident must be in Canada, or in a few listed situations treated as in Canada, on at least 730 days in every five-year period (IRPA s.28). Falling short does not end status by itself: status continues until an official decision, and a decision made outside Canada can be appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division within 60 days.
  • IMM 5444: renewing a PR card or applying for a PR travel document, what the form asks — IMM 5444 is one form for two applications: a permanent resident card if you are in Canada, or a permanent resident travel document (PRTD) if you are outside Canada without a valid card. The IRCC fee list shows $50 for each. IRCC says not to renew a card that is still valid for more than nine months unless your legal name has changed, and an undated or electronically signed paper form is returned.
  • Immigration consultant fees in Canada: what you pay for and how it must be billed — There is no official fee scale: the College says "RCICs set their own fees," and they must be "fair and reasonable." What the rules do fix is the paperwork. The fee for a first consultation must be in a written agreement before it starts, the full job needs a written service agreement with a fee estimate, and money paid in advance must sit in a trust account until the work is done.
  • How to check an RCIC licence on the College's Public Register — Search the consultant on the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants Public Register (register.college-ic.ca). Only people with an "Active" status and "Yes" in the "Entitled to Practise" column may legally give you immigration advice for a fee. Then contact them using the details on the register, not the ones in an ad or a message.