Finalizing the case and issuing a visa

When the application of the PA in Canada is ready to be finalized and the applicant can become a permanent resident, the CPC or in Canada IRCC will take appropriate steps to grant permanent residence and take the following steps to notify the overseas migration office that permanent residence will be granted to the PA in Canada:

• determine which office is responsible for the client’s current country of residence;
• send the appropriate letter from the T: drive as each overseas migration office has its own individual letters;
• add the relevant overseas migration office as a secondary office in GCMS;
• leave the CoPR/counterfoil at “Not started”;
• upload copy of Ready for Visa (RFV) letter to GCMS;
• input GCMS note confirming RFV letter sent.

The overseas migration office should run GCMS reports or queries weekly either to identify new inter-office verification requests that have been created and assigned or to search for completed inter-office verification activities for applications assigned to their office. The overseas migration office may then issue travel documents to the accompanying dependent children. The appropriate remark, e.g., “Applicant is single,” is to be recorded on the IMM 5292B.

Prior to issuing the permanent resident visa to an accompanying family member, the overseas migration office is responsible for:

• verifying, when applicable, that all medical and criminality checks as well as travel documents are still valid and will remain valid long enough for the applicant(s) to be admitted to Canada;
• verifying that spouses or common-law partners and children are still eligible ;
• verifying that the principal applicant in Canada has been granted permanent residence;
• issuing the permanent resident visas to eligible family members living abroad.
• verifying that the right of permanent residence fee (RPRF) has been paid, if applicable. If the right of permanent residence fee has not been paid and is applicable to any of the family members, the overseas migration office may collect the fee. Normally, the fee would be paid by the principal applicant in Canada in order to facilitate processing; however, the overseas migration office can collect the RPRF in exceptional circumstances.

For family members of protected persons who have not met the normal medical requirements, the visa office must note and act upon the following information: Under A26(d), an officer may, when granting permanent residence, impose conditions of a prescribed nature. R30(1), combined with R32, allows an officer to impose a condition requiring an applicant who does not meet normal medical requirements to report for medical examination, surveillance or treatment at times and places specified by the immigration officer.

A Medical Surveillance Undertaking [IMM 0535B] should also be completed when required. When issuing a permanent resident visa to a family member who does not meet normal medical requirements, the visa officer should indicate which of the above conditions should be imposed at the port of entry. An IMM 0535B should be completed when required. Note: If, in the opinion of a medical officer, a family member requires special medical attention, the visa office must advise the Migration Health Branch, which will in turn advise the appropriate provincial health authorities sufficiently in advance of the person’s arrival in Canada.

Requirement for passport, travel document, or satisfactory identity document

Protected persons and their family members shall not be granted permanent resident status until the protected person is in possession of a valid and subsisting passport or travel document, or other prescribed identity document. It is to be noted that R178 applies only to those applicants in Canada. Therefore, it may be necessary to consider other "travel documents" for family members who do not have a national passport. Note: The family member (DR2) of a protected person in Canada is not automatically a protected person and is not accorded the same protection as a protected person once in Canada. Using the inter-office verification system the overseas migration office should keep the CPC informed if the DR2 applicant is found to be ineligible or inadmissible prior to the granting of permanent residence to the principal applicant in Canada, as the CPC also informs the PA of these findings. The Act does not provide for an appeal right of an officer’s decision to refuse the issuance of a visa under R176 to a DR2 applicant who has been found inadmissible or not to be a family member. The PA’s only recourse is to seek leave for judicial review.