Canada has a new immigration pathway for foreign nationals who aged out of protective care services before they could get their permanent residence or citizenship – and face the possibility of deportation back to their home countries.
“A small number of individuals who came to Canada as minors never obtained permanent residence or citizenship while they were in the custody of child protection services,” notes Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
“As a result, some of these vulnerable people who never had status – or lost it – are now at risk of being deported to their country of birth. After living in Canada for years, many have little or no connection to their country of birth, and often do not speak the language.”
Under the new pathway, which will remain in effect until Jan. 27, 2027, Ottawa is offering permanent residence to foreign nationals and their families if they:
came to Canada when they were less than 19 years old;
were under the legal responsibility of a child and family services provider, and;
Canadian immigration is waiving all fees for eligible foreign nationals who were in state care who can also choose to apply for a temporary resident permit to allow them to stay in Canada as temporary residents.
The eligibility criteria for permanent residence under the new pathway include:
coming to Canada before the age of 19;
having continuously resided in Canada for at least three years prior to filing an application;
having continuously resided in Canada since the age of 19;
having been under the legal responsibility of a child and family services provider under a provincial or territorial government’s designated ministry for child protection for at least one year in total;
being physically present in Canada when submitting the application and being granted permanent residence;
intending to reside in a territory or province other than the province of Quebec;
not being a person against whom there are serious reasons for considering that they have committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a serious non-political crime outside of Canada or been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations;
having a valid passport, travel documents, identity documents, or a statutory declaration that the applicant is admissible to be in Canada.
“You must declare all your accompanying family members as well as your non-accompanying family members in your application,” notes the IRCC.
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“If you don’t include your non-accompanying family members, you won’t be able to sponsor them as family members later.”
This new pathway builds on the IRCC’s move in late September last year to allow these people to apply for temporary residence in Canada and get work permits and study permits. Those who applied for that temporary resident permit last year now become eligible to apply for permanent residence.
In a bid to curb what he is calling Canada’s addiction to temporary foreign workers, Immigration Minister Marc Miller is reportedly mulling over cuts to the number of hours international students will be allowed to work off campus.
“We have gotten addicted to temporary foreign workers,” Miller reportedly told Bloomberg News
“Any large industry trying to make ends meet will look at the ability to drive down wages. There is an incentive to drive labour costs down. It’s something that’ll require a larger discussion.”
Last month, the immigration minister limited study permits to be handed out to international students in the coming year by saying Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) would only accept 606,250 study permit applications in 2024.
“The intent of these Instructions is to ensure the number of study permit applications accepted into processing by the Department of Citizenship and Immigration … within the scope of the instructions does not exceed 606,250 study permit applications for one year beginning on the date of signature,” the Canada Gazette reported on Feb. 3.
The cap on study permit applications is expected to reduce the number of study permits by more than a third, The Globe and Mail has reported.
“The cap is expected to result in approximately 364,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35 per cent from 2023,” the immigration minister has reportedly said. “In the spirit of fairness, we are also allocating the cap space by province, based on population.”
Under the cap on study permits, it is expected the provinces and territories will each have a limit on their ability to welcome new international students. The national newspaper reports those proposed limits will allow some provinces to increase their international student population while dramatically cutting it in other provinces, including Ontario.
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The cap on study permits and proposed reductions in the hours international students will be allowed to work off campus and other, suggested tweaks to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to reduce the number of low-wage workers, though, have some business leaders worried.
At the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), president Dan Kelly has openly wondered whether the government is now operating in panic mode as it attempts to deflect from criticism that record immigration has fuelled inflation and caused much of the housing crisis.
Business Leaders Say Smaller Communities Have Come To Depend On Immigration
He is hoping the government will properly think through the ramifications of changes to the TFWP, particularly for smaller and rural communities, as many businesses have come to rely on immigrants.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the hours international students could work off-campus were increased from 20 to 40 per week to help resolve acute labour shortages.
Miller is reportedly considering a reduction in those hours now that the pandemic is under control and is thought to be considering a weekly limit in hours worked off campus that will be somewhere between 20 and 40 hours.
The latest data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows the Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) closed last year up by 3.7 per cent, less than half the rate of growth for overall immigration to Canada.
By the end of December last year, 28,280 parents and grandparents had become new permanent residents of Canda through that family sponsorship program, up from 27,270 in 2022.
Overall immigration to Canada, though, set a new record last year as 471,550 foreign nationals became new permanent residents, a bump up of 7.8 per cent from the 437,595 new permanent residents to Canada the previous year.
The PGP’s performance softened in the final two months of last year, dropping 32 per cent in November, to only 1,720 new permanent residents from 2,530 in October – and then sagging an additional 5.2 per cent in December when the number of new permanent residents under the program slipped to only 1,630.
Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, once again saw the greatest number of arrivals under the PGP last year with 13,345 parents and grandparents settling there.
The other provinces and territories attracted the following number of new permanent residents under the PGP during that period:
Newfoundland and Labrador – 55
Prince Edward Island – 10
Nova Scotia – 190
New Brunswick – 60
Quebec – 2,435
Manitoba – 1,175
Saskatchewan – 780
Alberta – 5,485
British Columbia – 4,705
Yukon – 25
Northwest Territories – 15
Nunavut – 0
Across the country, Nova Scotia saw the biggest gains in PGP immigration of all the provinces last year as the number of new permanent residents through the program rose 35.7 per cent. The Yukon saw the greatest percentage increase in PGP immigration last year, 66.7 per cent, but that was on a very small base with only 25 parents and grandparents arriving in the territory under that program in 2023.
A few provinces saw declines in PGP immigration in 2023.
Among them, Prince Edward Island saw a third fewer parents and grandparents arrive last year than in 2022. PGP immigration also slipped by 13.3 per cent in Saskatchewan and 4.7 per cent in Quebec.
With growing total immigration to Canada, it seems likely PGP immigration will rise in tandem over the coming years.
Under its 2023-2025 Immigration Levels Plan, Ottawa had set its immigration target for 2023 at 465,000 new permanent residents.
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Under the 2024-2026 Immigration Levels Plan, Canada is now planning to welcome 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024, 500,000 in 2025 and then hold the line on immigration in 2026 with another 500,000 newcomers.
That’s a total of 1.485 million immigrants to Canada over those three years.
Under the PGP, applicants pay $1,050 to sponsor a parent or grandparent and the process takes up to 23 months, with the people being sponsored required to provide biometrics after they apply. That processing time includes the time to provide those biometrics.
Once a Canadian citizen or permanent resident has submitted an interest in sponsoring these relatives, he or she is sent an Invitation to Apply (ITA) and must then submit two applications to the PGP:
the sponsorship application, and;
the permanent residence application.
If those applications get the green light, the sponsor signs an agreement called an undertaking which starts on the day the sponsoree becomes a permanent resident of Canada.
Among the several requirements which need to be met to determine eligibility to sponsor a parent or grandparent, are:
a receipt of an Invitation to Apply;
being at least 18 years old;
Canadian residency;
being a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act;
sufficient funds to support the parent or grandparent;
proof of income, although a spouse or common-law partner can co-sign to combine their income with that of the sponsor, and;
meeting all other requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.
Sponsors Ink Deal With Government To Financially Support Parents And Grandparents
All sponsors living outside of the province of Quebec, which has its own immigration system, must promise to financially support the sponsorees for a period of time.
This undertaking commits the sponsor to:
providing financial support for sponsored family members for 20 years, starting when they become permanent residents;
repaying any provincial social assistance (money from the government) sponsored family members get during that time, and;
agreeing to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period in a sponsorship agreement.
That sponsorship agreement means that the sponsor will provide the basic needs of the sponsoree, including:
food;
clothing;
utilities;
personal requirements;
shelter;
fuel;
household supplies, and;
healthcare not covered by public health insurance, such as eye and dental care.
Sponsors Remain Financial Responsible For Relatives Even In Tough Times
The sponsorship agreement is not one to be entered into lightly as it is obliges the sponsor to meet those requirements even in the case of:
separation or divorce;
family rifts;
unemployment;
change in finances, and even;
death of the main applicant.
Sponsors who live in Quebec must meet that province’s immigration sponsorship requirements after the IRCC approves of the sponsor. The length of the undertaking is 10 years for Quebec.
Due to the need for sponsors to accept responsibility for their parents and grandparents through sponsorship agreements under the PGP, past criminality and serious financial troubles can render a Canadian citizen or permanent resident ineligible for this program.
Applicants may not be eligible to sponsor their parents or grandparents if the sponsors:
are in a jail, prison or penitentiary;
didn’t pay back an immigration loan or performance bond;
failed to make court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support;
didn’t give the financial support specified under a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past;
declared bankruptcy and are not discharged;
receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability;
were convicted of a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada, or;
can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because they received a removal order.
The applicant cannot sponsor his or her spouse’s parents or grandparents, aka their in-laws, but can be a co-signer on that spouse’s application to bring to Canada his or her parents and grandparents.
The PGP program also does not allow a Canadian citizen or permanent resident to sponsor someone who is otherwise inadmissible to come to Canada.
The PGP is restricted to the applicant’s own parents and grandparents, related by blood or adoption.
IRCC Urges Applicants To Keep Their Information Current To Avoid Delays
“In case of divorce, you’ll need to submit separate applications if you sponsor divorced parents and grandparents,” notes the IRCC on its website.
“If your divorced parents or grandparents have a current spouse, common-law partner or a conjugal partner, these people become dependants on the application and can immigrate to Canada with your parents and grandparents, if approved.”
A PGP application can include the sponsor’s own brothers and sisters, or half-brothers and sisters, or step-brothers and step-sisters – but only if they qualify as dependent children of the sponsor’s parents.
Delays in processing can quickly occur when the IRCC is faced with information which is no longer accurate and so Canadian immigration officials encourage applicants to keep their contact information and application details up to date.
Important information which must be updated includes:
changes in relationship status;
birth or adoption of a child;
death of an applicant or dependant;
contact information such as e-mail addresses, phone numbers, and mailing addresses.
The applicant is responsible for going into the application and updating it with this information him or herself.
“Don’t mail us changes to your contact or application information,” notes the IRCC. “If you do, we won’t acknowledge your request and we won’t update your application.”
Canadian immigration officials notify applicants under the PGP as soon as they begin to process the application, sending them both an application number and an acknowledgement of receipt of the application.
The IRCC then assesses both the applicant’s eligibility as a sponsor and the person being sponsored for permanent residence.
“If we refuse you as a sponsor, you can choose to have us keep processing the application for permanent residence for your family members,” notes the IRCC.
Choosing to have the IRCC continue processing the application at that point means the sponsor forgoes all fees which have been paid.
By choosing to withdraw the application in the eventuality of being deemed ineligible to sponsor, the applicant can get all of his or her fees back, minus the $75 sponsorship fee.
Once Canadian immigration officials have approved a sponsor under the PGP, they then turn their attention to the people being sponsored to determine their eligibility under the program.
The IRCC will typically request documents from those being sponsored, including:
medical exam results;
police certificates, and;
biometrics.
Letters requesting that biometric information are sent to the parents or grandparents and their dependent children as named in the application and they then have 30 days to provide the biometric information at the closest collection point.
