Ministerial Instructions 63 (MI63): Ministerial Instructions for certain individuals in Canada who came to Canada under the age of 19 and were under the legal responsibility of the child protection system

The objective of these instructions is for officers to consider granting foreign nationals in Canada (and their eligible family members in Canada) who came to Canada under the age of 19 and were under the legal responsibility of the child protection system a temporary resident permit to give them authorization to remain in Canada as a temporary resident.

Pursuant to subsection 24(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act), I hereby issue the following instructions which will take effect on September 29, 2023.

An officer assessing an application for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) from a foreign national should consider issuing a TRP, valid for at least one year, to the applicant and their in-Canada eligible family members, when the following circumstances are present:

• the foreign national is physically present in Canada, entered Canada before age 19, has continuously resided in Canada for at least three years on the date of their application; and has continuously resided in Canada since age 19, if over the age of 19;
• the foreign national was 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);
• the foreign national is inadmissible, only pursuant to any of the following provisions of the Act: subsection 36(1); subsection 36(2); paragraph 38(1)(c); section 39; paragraph 40(1)(a) for no other reasons than related to their entry to Canada or overstaying their temporary resident status and working or studying without authorization; paragraph 40(1)(b); subsection 41(a); and, section 42, except where the family member is inadmissible under subsections 34(1), 35(1) or 37(1); and
• the family members in Canada are inadmissible only pursuant to any of the following provisions of the Act: paragraph 40(1)(a) and subsection 41(a) for no other reasons than related to their entry to Canada or overstaying their temporary resident status and working or studying without authorization; and section 42 except where the family member is inadmissible under subsections 34(1), 35(1) or 37(1).

Family members are defined as persons who meet the definition of a “family member” in subsection 1(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (the Regulations) as assessed by the officer.

For the purposes of these instructions, "under the legal responsibility of a child and family services provider" refers only to situations where the responsible provincial or territorial authorities obtained full legal ‘parental’ responsibilities for the child by court order.

If applicants do not hold a document enumerated at subsection 50(1) of the Regulations or if they are unable to obtain a document enumerated at subsection 50(1), officers may accept other documents to substantiate the identity of an applicant, such as, but not limited to, those documents described in subsections 178(1) and 178(2) of the Regulations.

In determining whether a subsequent temporary resident permit is justified, officers should consider the above factors.