What Canada PR costs from the UAE

Settlement funds: money you show, then keep

If you apply under the Federal Skilled Worker or Federal Skilled Trades programme, you must show IRCC that you can support your family on arrival. It is not a fee — the money stays yours — but it has to be available to you, in your name, when you apply and when the visa is issued.

Applicants under the Canadian Experience Class, and those authorised to work in Canada with a valid job offer, do not need to show it.

The costs that are not IRCC's

A language test (IELTS General Training, CELPIP or PTE Core for English; TEF or TCF for French), at the test centre's UAE price. An educational credential assessment from an IRCC-designated organisation, for each degree you claim points for. A medical examination with an IRCC panel physician in the UAE, once you are invited. Police certificates from the UAE and from every other country you have lived in for six months or more since turning 18.

Each of these is priced by the provider, not by IRCC, and providers revise their prices. Take the figure from the provider's own UAE price list on the day you book.

Professional fees, if you use an adviser, should be written down separately from all of the above. They are paid to a different party, for a different thing.

Showing settlement funds from a UAE account

IRCC wants official letters from every bank where you hold an account, showing your outstanding debts and, for each account, the opening date, current balance and the average balance over the past six months. Equity in property does not count, and the money cannot be borrowed from another person.

For Gulf applicants the six-month average is the usual weak point: a gratuity paid just before applying, or savings moved between accounts, does not build a six-month average. Plan when the funds land, not just how much there is.