Canada ends sponsorship exemption for certain undeclared family members

Canada has ended a temporary public policy that allowed certain permanent residents to sponsor immediate family members who had not been declared or examined when the sponsor originally immigrated to Canada. The policy applied primarily to certain resettled refugees, protected persons and people who had obtained permanent residence as sponsored spouses, partners or dependent children. Under the exemption, eligible sponsors could sponsor a spouse, partner, or dependent child even if the family member was not declared or examined during the sponsor’s own immigration process. The public policy ended on September 10, 2026. IRCC will continue to process eligible applications received by that date under the exemption, but applications submitted after September 10 will no longer qualify. Under the regular rules, applicants for permanent residence must declare all family members, even if they are not accompanying them to Canada, and those family members generally must undergo the required examinations. Failure to declare and have a family member examined can therefore prevent that person from being sponsored later.

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