Pilot program to exempt permanent residence applicants in the family class or the spouse or common-law partner in Canada (SCLPC) class – Update

Foreign nationals applying to immigrate to Canada are required to both declare and have all of their family members (spouse or common-law partner, and children) examined, even if those family members are not accompanying the principal applicant.

Failure to have a non-accompanying family member examined results in a lifetime exclusion in being able to sponsor that person under the family class or the spouse or common-law partner in Canada (SCLPC) class.

To address potential concerns about the impact this provision may have on families, the Government of Canada introduced a 2-year pilot project via a temporary public policy to facilitate the immigration of certain sponsored foreign nationals.

Effective, September 10, 2023, the temporary Public policy to facilitate the immigration of certain sponsored foreign nationals excluded under paragraph 117(9)(d) or 125(1)(d) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), has been extended for an additional 3 years.

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