CIMM - Family Class

Key Messages

• Family reunification is an important component of Canada’s immigration system. It plays a significant role in attracting, retaining and integrating immigrants.
• Keeping families together improves their integration into Canadian society, their economic outcomes and their ability to contribute to their communities and to our country.

Supplementary Messages

Marriage Fraud

• The Government recognizes that the majority of relationships are genuine and that most applications are made in good faith.
• To this end, the Government intends to continue reuniting sponsored spouses and partners with their sponsors in Canada in a fair and compassionate manner.
• Keeping families together improves their integration into Canadian society, their economic outcomes and their ability to contribute to their communities and to our country.
• All applications are assessed by highly trained officers against the same criteria, as laid out in the Immigration, Refugees and Protection Act.

Repealing Conditional Permanent Residence

• In April 2017, this Government eliminated the condition that applied to some sponsored spouses and partners to live with their sponsor for 2 years in order to maintain their permanent resident status.
• This change was made to address concerns that vulnerable spouses or partners may stay in abusive relationships out of fear of losing their permanent resident status, despite an exception to the condition that existed for situations of abuse. Between January 1, 2013, and September 30, 2016, 597 spouses or partners requested an exception to the co-habitation requirement due to abuse or neglect by their sponsor.
• The elimination of conditional permanent residence supports the Government’s commitment to gender equality and to combatting gender-based violence.
• This regulatory repeal recognizes that, while cases of marriage fraud exist, the majority of relationships are genuine and most applications for spousal sponsorship are made in good faith.

Spousal Acceptance Rates

• All applications from around the world are assessed equally against the same criteria.
• There are factors outside IRCC’s control. Time to establish identity or relationships, lack of access to applicants, and missing documentation are examples of reasons for delays in processing applications.

Adoptions

• For all international (or intercountry) adoptions, the provinces and territories are responsible for the adoption process. The Federal Government is only involved in the immigration or citizenship process for an adopted child.
• Canada is party to The Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Convention).
• The Convention puts in place international safeguards to make sure that intercountry adoptions are in the best interests of children and respects their fundamental rights. It also establishes a system of cooperation among countries to prevent the abduction of, sale of, or traffic in children.
• Canada has an obligation to comply with the Convention and applies the same standard to all adoptions, regardless of the country of origin of the child and whether they are parties to the Convention.

Supporting Facts and Figures

Spouses, Partners and Children:

• The service standard is 12 months for spouse and partner files received on or after December 7, 2016.
• As of December 31, 2019, 80% of spouses, partners and children applications were processed within 13 months (77% were processed within 12 months or less). 80% of new spouse and partner applications finalized in the last 12 months were processed within the 12 month commitment. Admission levels in the Multi-Year Level Plan should allow for most new intake to be processed within the committed 12 months.

Background

Considerations for Guardianship/Kafala Cases Generally:

• The Department has previously granted exemptions in guardianship or Kafala cases using humanitarian and compassionate authority, in cases where the application is made for a permanent resident visa.
• The delegated visa officer must be satisfied that there are sufficient safeguards, including where the biological parents of the child are deceased. There must not be any ties to the biological parents, and therefore no issue regarding the lack of severance of the legal parent-child relationship.
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