Family Sponsorship members
When people apply to become permanent residents of Canada, they must list all of their family members (spouse, common-law partner, and dependent children), even if they aren't coming to Canada with them.
Many newcomers neglected to report some family members on their application for a variety of reasons, including a lack of awareness or knowledge of a family member's whereabouts in a conflict situation. Applicants made themselves ineligible to be sponsored to come to Canada for the rest of their lives by failing to include these family members.
To address this unintended consequence, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship announced on May 31, 2019, the launch of a pilot programme in which a resettled refugee, a person granted refugee protection in Canada, or a person who was sponsored as a spouse, partner, or dependent child can sponsor undeclared immediate family members (a spouse, partner or dependent child).
The pilot will start on September 9, 2019 and will last for two years. It will make family reunification easier and ensure that dependants who were not listed on a family member's immigration application are not punished or denied entry to Canada. It will also allow some newcomers to sponsor undocumented relatives.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is limiting sponsor eligibility to those who immigrated to Canada as a resettled refugee, were granted refugee protection in Canada, or were sponsored as a close family member to maintain programme integrity and ensure that this pilot project does not expose the system to fraud and misrepresentation.
The applicants must still meet all eligibility requirements and prove they’re admissible to Canada.
