An applicant received an IRCC email asking them to pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) and asked whether that meant approval and imminent COPR. From the thread:
- An RPRF request means you've cleared the eligibility stage. That was the group's direct answer: IRCC doesn't ask for this fee until your application has passed eligibility review. It is a strong positive signal, though not yet a final approval — remaining checks (like security/background) still have to complete before COPR.
- You only get this email if you didn't pay upfront. Members first checked whether the applicant had paid the RPRF at submission — it can be paid together with the processing fee. Paying upfront avoids this extra step later; paying on request is equally valid, just adds a round trip.
- Timeline to COPR after paying varies. The applicant (paper-based file from Nov 2021) asked how long after payment COPR arrives; no one could give a fixed answer, and members noted it differs between paper-based and Express Entry/PNP files. Treat the fee request as progress, not a countdown.