Operational Bulletin 295 - April 13, 2011

Change in Procedures for Processing Quebec Family Class Applications

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) will provide information on the change in procedures for Quebec family class applications that are being implemented by the Quebec Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI) on March 25, 2011. These changes apply when a sponsor lives in the province of Quebec, or abroad, where applicable, and meets the federal requirements to sponsor a member of the family class.

Issue

The purpose of this OB is to provide operational instructions on the change in procedures being implemented by the MIFI for family class applications. Effective March 25, 2011, the change applies when a sponsor is living in Quebec and meets the federal requirements to sponsor a member of the family class. It also applies when the sponsor is a Canadian citizen residing outside of Canada, sponsoring a spouse, partner and/or dependent child who intends to reside in Quebec upon return to Canada.

Background

Currently, if the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga (CPC-M) receives an application where the sponsor lives in Quebec or is destined to Quebec, and meets the federal eligibility requirements, the CPC-M, and not the applicant, will send a copy of the undertaking application (IMM 1344AE) directly to the MIFI.

The Case Processing Centre in Vegreville (CPC-V) and inland offices currently forward the IMM 1344 and the IMM 5001 to the MIFI if the sponsor:

• meets the minimum federal requirements;
• resides in Quebec; and
• is sponsoring a spouse or common-law partner from within Canada.

Instructions

a) At CPC-M:

Beginning March 25, 2011, if CPC-M has an application, where the sponsor meets the federal requirements to sponsor a member of the family class and resides in the province of Quebec, CPC-M will send a letter to the sponsor instructing them to download the MIFI undertaking kit, complete and submit it to the MIFI along with a copy of the letter issued by the CPC.

CPC-M will only send a copy of the IMM 1344AE directly to the MIFI in the following cases:

• for adoption cases.
• or when the sponsorship application has not met the federal requirements but the sponsor chooses to continue processing.

The CPC can send an electronic version of the IMM 1344 to garants.dsiq@micc.gouv.qc.ca.

If a sponsor decides to add a family member to their application during processing (i.e., a newborn dependant) or change a non-accompanying family member to an accompanying family member, CPC-M will send the sponsor a letter instructing him/her to download the MIFI undertaking kit, complete and submit it to the MIFI along with a copy of the letter issued by CPC.

b) At Visa Offices:

The MIFI will continue to send decisions on undertaking applications to visa offices in the usual manner.

When the visa officer notes that the undertaking application has been approved, but a Certificat de Sélection du Québec (CSQ) is missing for one or more persons included in the application, the officer will ask the principal applicant to provide the missing CSQ(s).

The visa office can contact the MIFI at garants.dsiq@micc.gouv.qc.ca.

c) At CPC-V, Backlog Reduction Office and local CIC offices:

For FC1, FCC, and FCH cases, the CIC office will send a letter to the sponsor instructing him/her to download the MIFI undertaking kit, complete and submit it to the MIFI along with a copy of the letter issued by CPC. It is no longer necessary to forward a copy of the IMM 1344 or IMM 5001 to the MIFI.

If a sponsor wants to add a family member during processing or change a non-accompanying family member to an accompanying family member, the CIC office will send the sponsor a letter explaining the procedure and asking him or her to complete and submit the MIFI undertaking application to the MIFI along with the letter from CPC/Backlog Reduction Office/Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

For Humanitarian and Compassionate applications with sponsorship (HC2) the CIC office will forward a copy of the IMM 1344, IMM 5001 and the transmission to the MIFI. In all other incidences, it is no longer necessary for CIC to forward these documents to the MIFI.

For further information outlined in this OB, please contact your supervisor or your Regional Program Advisor (RPA). RPAs may in turn contact Operational Management and Coordination Branch.