Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada ended a temporary public policy on September 10, 2026, that allowed some permanent residents to sponsor undeclared family members. The department stated its decision was due to integrity concerns. This policy provided an important exception to a rule that can otherwise permanently prevent a permanent resident from later sponsoring a family member they did not declare before coming to Canada. The policy had been available for seven years.
The temporary public policy, which concluded on September 10, 2026, had been in effect for seven years in various forms. It permitted certain permanent residents to sponsor family members they had not initially declared. The exemption applied to some refugees and protected persons, as well as individuals who became permanent residents after being sponsored as a spouse, common law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child. Eligible sponsorship applications received by September 10 will still apply the exemption, but applications submitted after that date cannot benefit from the policy.
The policy was originally introduced in 2019 as a two year pilot and was subsequently renewed in 2021 and 2023. Approximately 2,000 applications were received under the policy, with about 90 percent approved, according to a 2023 memo reported by The Canadian Press. The policy received signoffs from three immigration ministers: Ahmed Hussen, Marco Mendicino, and Marc Miller. Refugee activists have asked current immigration minister Lena Diab to reconsider the termination.
Canada normally requires permanent residence applicants to declare all immediate family members, including those not accompanying them to Canada. These family members generally need to undergo required medical, background, and security checks. If someone becomes a permanent resident without declaring a family member, that family member is typically excluded from certain sponsorship classes, creating a lifetime sponsorship bar. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced the exemption in 2019 as a two year pilot due to concerns that this rule could have disproportionately serious consequences for some families. The exemption was subsequently renewed, allowing eligible families to rely on the policy for approximately seven years.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada stated its decision to end the policy was due to integrity concerns. However, earlier assessments by the department, including when it extended the policy in 2021 and 2023, described the affected group as presenting a minimal risk to program integrity. Refugee activists have asked current immigration minister Lena Diab to reconsider the termination of the policy.
People who no longer qualify for the exemption may need to request humanitarian and compassionate consideration. Some potential sponsors may once again face a sponsorship bar for family members they did not declare or have examined when they applied for permanent residence. A request based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds is assessed on a case by case basis, and the current processing time estimate for these applications is over 10 years. Merely filing an application does not allow the applicant to stay or come to Canada, which creates considerably more uncertainty for affected families.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will continue applying the exemption to eligible sponsorship applications received by September 10. Applications submitted after that date cannot benefit from the policy. The government is considering amendments to the regulations governing undeclared and unexamined family members, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Forward Regulatory Plan for 2026 to 2028. These proposed changes are still in the exploratory stage, and it is unclear whether Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will still move forward with them now that integrity concerns have been raised. There is a gap between the expiry of the seven year public policy and any possible permanent solution.