Dependent Children

For purposes of in-Canada processing, accompanying dependent children are children listed on the application who are applying for permanent residence and:

• reside in Canada; or
• reside outside Canada but will join the applicant if permanent resident status is received.

Dependent Children Living Outside Canada

For dependent children living outside Canada, the CPC-V will forward a copy of the permanent residence application listing the dependent children and their relevant contact information to the responsible visa office for verification of the relationship once the sponsor and applicant have been assessed and approved against eligibility requirements.

The visa office will determine the admissibility of dependent children outside Canada and conduct interviews. The CPC then informs the CIC responsible for the applicant’s place of residence that permanent residence may be granted. Once the CIC has granted permanent residence to the principal applicant, it will notify the visa office, which will issue permanent resident visas to the overseas dependent children who are seeking permanent residence.

The Regulations create an exception regarding the admissibility requirements for principal applicants when their children are in the sole custody of a separated or former spouse or common-law partner. Applicants must, however, provide documentary proof of the custody arrangements.

Officers may still insist on a child being examined if it believes that custody arrangements are not genuine but rather that they were entered into in order to facilitate the applicant’s permanent residence in Canada by hiding the child’s inadmissibility. If an applicant lists a child in the sole custody of a separated or former spouse or common-law partner, it is appropriate to inform applicants that:

• children who are not examined cannot later be sponsored as members of the family class, despite any future changes in custody arrangements
• the best interests of the child might be better served by having the child examined.