Pathway to permanent residence: Outside-of-Canada families of Canadian victims of air disasters – Eligibility requirements for the public policy
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
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
- Relationship to a victim of one of the air disasters
- Ineligible principal applicants
- Eligibility of family members
Assessing the principal applicant
To be eligible under the public policy, the principal applicant must establish that they are related to a victim of the PS752 or ET302 air disaster and that their familial relationship falls under one of the relationships listed in the public policy.
Relationship to a victim of one of the air disasters
To qualify for this public policy, the principal applicant must be related to a victim of the ET302 or PS752 air disaster who was one of the following:
- Canadian citizen
- permanent resident
- foreign national who had a positive eligibility decision (stage 1) on their permanent residence application
The principal applicant must have been one of the following victim’s relatives:
- spouse or common-law partner
- child (regardless of age)
- mother or father
- grandmother or grandfather
- grandchild
- brother or sister (including half siblings)
- aunt or uncle (their mother or father’s sibling)
- nephew or niece (the child of their sibling)
The principal applicant may also be one of the following family members of the spouse or common-law partner of the victim:
- child (regardless of age)
- mother or father
- grandmother or grandfather
- grandchild
- brother or sister (including half siblings)
- aunt or uncle (their mother or father’s sibling)
- nephew or niece (the child of their sibling)
and
A surviving family member in Canada must complete and sign a statutory declaration for the parent, grandparent, brother or sister, grandchild, aunt or uncle, or niece or nephew. The surviving family member must be one of the following:
- the victim’s spouse or common-law partner
- if they are not in Canada, the oldest child (18 years of age or over), or guardian of the child (under 18 years of age)
Note: The surviving family member may sign a statutory declaration for up to 2 principal applicants.
The principal applicant may also be a family member, as defined in subsection1(3) of the Regulations, of a person who was granted permanent residence under the Temporary public policy to facilitate permanent residence for in-Canada families of Canadian victims of recent air disasters who was declared as a non-accompanying family member or was born after their parent became a permanent resident.
In addition, the applicant must
- be outside Canada when they apply and are considered for this public policy
- submit the required forms as set out in the application package of this public policy
- hold a document listed in subsection R50(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), or if they are unable to obtain a document listed in subsection R50(1), provide a document described in subsections R178(1) and R178(2)
Documentary evidence
Applicants have been instructed to provide evidence that their relative was a victim of one of the air disasters.
The applicant also has to establish that they are related to a victim through one of the familial relationships referred to in the public policy. Considering that there are some family relationships that might be more complex to establish because they are more removed (see child versus nephew for example), the applicant may need to provide multiple documents to prove their relation to the victim.
For example, if the applicant was the victim’s aunt, they will need to provide evidence that the victim was their sibling’s child, and that the sibling’s parent is also the applicant’s parent.
Diagram showing a family tree of a parent, sibling, applicant and victim
The documentary evidence necessary to establish the familial relationship between the applicant and the victim can vary from one application to the other. Considering that some of the documents may have been with the victim at the time of the air disaster and are no longer available, or that the applicant may be unable to obtain certain evidence, officers are encouraged to apply flexibility to the evidence required. In cases where applicants are unable to obtain official records as evidence of the familial relationship, officers may consider alternate evidence provided by applicants, including affidavits or oral testimony through an interview. Officers may also hold an interview if the credibility of the applicant is a concern. Ultimately, the officer must be satisfied that the criterion has been met before continuing to process the application.
Useful resources
- Assessing the legality of a marriage
- Assessing the relationship between spouses or common-law partners
- Assessing a common-law relationship
Ineligible principal applicants
Principal applicants must meet all of the eligibility criteria to be approved. Processing officers must follow rules of procedural fairness. All documents and correspondence with the applicant should be recorded in GCMS. In all cases of refusal, the applicant must be advised in writing of the decision.
If the principal applicant’s application is to be refused, the accompanying family members are not eligible for a permanent resident visa under this public policy and must also be refused. Officers are to use the subsection A25.2(1) ground for refusal of the public policy eligibility criteria.
Eligibility of family members
The principal applicant must list all family members living inside and outside Canada on their application for a permanent resident visa, whether accompanying or not. They may, however, choose which family members they want to include in their application as accompanying.
Accompanying family members who are outside Canada must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- They are outside Canada.
- They meet the legal definition of a family member R1(3).
- They have been included as an accompanying family member in an application for a permanent resident visa by a principal applicant seeking exemptions under this public policy.
- They hold a document listed in subsection 50(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), or if they are unable to obtain this document, provides a document described in subsections R178(1) and R178(2).
- The delegated officer has determined that the principal applicant meets all eligibility requirements to be issued a permanent resident visa pursuant to this public policy.
Accompanying family members who are in Canada must meet the following eligibility requirements:
- They are in Canada.
- They meet the legal definition of a family member R1(3).
- The principal applicant includes them as an accompanying family member on their application for a permanent resident visa under this public policy.
- They are not inadmissible pursuant to the Act and Regulations, other than for paragraph 41(a) of the Act – the requirement not to be inadmissible for non-compliance for having entered Canada without the required visa or other document required under the Regulations; having overstayed their period of authorized stay in Canada; or worked or studied without being authorized to do so under the Act.
- The delegated officer has determined that the principal applicant meets all eligibility requirements to be issued a permanent resident visa pursuant to this public policy.
Non-accompanying family members must be declared and examined for admissibility purposes.
Applicants and their family members are subjects to all applicable eligibility and admissibility requirements of the Act and Regulations not otherwise exempted.
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