A practical tip for people applying to IRCC on their own

On December 1, 2023 with less than two days notice, IRCC changed a number of filing fees. The new fees are weird. The cost of an application for "criminal rehabilitation" rose from $200.00 to $229.77. The cost to apply for authorization to return to Canada rose from $400.00 to $459.55. The cost for a rehabilitation application due to inadmissibility on the grounds of serious criminality rose from $1,000.00 to $1,148.87. The cost to restore a person's status as a visitor, worker or student rose from $200.00 to $229.00. Increasingly, filing fees are fragmenting and there are less and less fees common among similar applications.

Here is the practical tip. The more IRCC computerizes its systems, the more chaotic the application process becomes. Instructions, application fees, portals, and forms change overnight. Before submitting anything to IRCC go back to IRCC's website and review every instruction, form, document checklist, and address. Even if you reviewed everything the day before, your application may be refused because you did not follow that day's format.