Permanent residence pathway: Foreign nationals who were in state care – Eligibility requirements for the public policy

Applicants applying under the public policy must meet certain eligibility requirements.

IRCC is required to follow the rules of procedural fairness throughout the decision-making process.

On this page

• Assessing the principal applicant
• Ineligible principal applicants
• Eligibility of in-Canada family members

Assessing the principal applicant

To be eligible under the public policy, the principal applicant must

• have come to Canada before they were 19 years of age
• be physically present in Canada at the time of application
• have continuously resided in Canada for at least 3 years by the time of application
• have continuously resided in Canada since the age of 19 (if over the age of 19)
• have 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 1 year (cumulative)
• intend to reside in a province or territory other than the province of Quebec
• not be inadmissible to Canada, except for one or more of these reasons:
  • subsection 36(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) on serious criminality grounds
  • subsection A36(2) on criminality grounds
  • paragraph A38(1)(c) on health grounds for a health condition that might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demand on health or social services
  • section A39 for financial reasons
  • paragraph A40(1)(a) for no reasons other than misrepresentation related to their entry to Canada or overstaying their temporary resident status and working or studying without authorization
  • paragraph A40(1)(b) for being or having been sponsored by a person who has been found inadmissible for misrepresentation
  • subsection A41(a) for non-compliance
  • section A42 where the family member is inadmissible, except where the family member is inadmissible under subsections A34(1), A35(1) or A37(1)
• not be a person mentioned in section F of Article 1 of the Refugee Convention
• have a valid passport or travel document, or provide a document described in subsections 178(1) and 178(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)
• be physically in Canada when permanent residence is granted

Ineligible principal applicants

Principal applicants must meet the eligibility criteria to be approved. If officers require additional information before an eligibility decision can be completed, they must send a request letter to the applicant.

Subsequently, the applicant must be given the opportunity to respond and provide additional information in support of their application. All applicant documents and correspondence with the applicant must be recorded in the Global Case Management System (GCMS).

When the application is refused, the applicant must be advised of the decision in writing.

If the principal applicant’s application is refused, the accompanying family members are not eligible for permanent residence under this public policy and must also be refused. Officers should use the subsection A25.2(1) as grounds for refusal to grant permanent resident status under this public policy.

Eligibility of in-Canada family members

To be eligible under the public policy, in-Canada family members must

• be physically present in Canada at the time of application
• be included as an accompanying family member in an application for permanent residence by a principal applicant
• meet the legal definition of a family member found in subsection R1(3)
• be related to a principal applicant whom a delegated officer has determined meets all the conditions (eligibility requirements) of the public policy
• intend to reside in a province or territory other than the province of Quebec
• not be inadmissible to Canada, except for one or more of these reasons:
  • paragraph A40(1)(a) for no reasons other than misrepresentation related to overstaying their temporary resident status, and working or studying without authorization
  • subsection A41(a) for no reasons other than overstaying their temporary resident status, and working or studying without authorization
  • section A42 where the family member is inadmissible, except where the family member is inadmissible under subsections A34(1), A35(1) or A37(1)
• have a valid passport or travel document, or provide a document described in subsection R178(1) and R178(2)
• be physically in Canada when permanent residence is granted