On May 3, 2017 news of a long awaited amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations was released. As of October 24, 2017 an individual under the age of 22 will be considered a 'dependent child'. The increase from under 19 years of age to under 22 years of age acknowledges the trend that children are living with their parents for longer than they previously did, often to pursue higher education. The change in definition will allow families to be united in Canada more easily since dependent children may be included in their parents' application for permanent residency. Thus, a separate family class sponsorship application is not required for dependent children.
The new definition of 'dependent child' will only apply to permanent residency applications submitted on or after October 24, 2017. It is important to note that IRCC has stated that this change will not be retroactive. Having said this, there may be limited instances where children may still qualify for dependent status if they were detrimentally affected during the period of time (August 1, 2014 to October 24, 2017) when a dependent child was defined as someone younger than 19 years of age. Please contact us for additional information.
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