Intercountry adoptions: The application process

This section provides functional guidance for processing permanent residence applications under the family class in the case of intercountry adoptions.

On this page

• Processing immigration applications for adopted children
• Role of the case processing centre
  • Sponsorships of unnamed children
  • Changing a child’s name in the IMM 1344 form
  • Requesting a letter or notice of agreement or a letter of no objection
  • Multiple adoptions
• Role of the migration office
• Probationary periods
• Permanent Resident Visa issuance
  • Parents fully and reliably informed about all aspects of a child’s medical condition
  • Assess admissibility
  • Reconfirm eligibility
  • Requirements specific to Hague Convention cases
• Regulatory requirements for adoptions to be accepted for immigration purposes
• Making a final decision

Processing immigration applications for adopted children

Sponsorship applications for intercountry adoptions, where the prospective adoptive parent (PAP) is habitually resident in Canada and the adoption has been finalized in the country of origin of the child, or where the adoption is to be finalized in Canada, are given priority processing alongside other Family Class Priority (FCP) categories such as FC1, FCC and FC3.

Officers must determine the sponsor’s province or territory (P/T) of habitual residence in Canada. When it is not clear, the officer must consult with the P/T Central Authority to determine the sponsor’s habitual residence based on an assessment of all the circumstances of the case. Contact information for the P/T Central Authorities can be found here: Adoption authorities contacts.

In cases where it is determined that the sponsor does not habitually reside in Canada, the P/T Central Authorities do not have jurisdiction and cannot provide a letter of no objection or letter or notice of agreement (LOA/NOA).

A person who wishes to sponsor a member of the family class is required to habitually reside in Canada, as per paragraph R130(1)(b). Subsection R130(2) provides an exception for Canadian citizens residing abroad who sponsor a foreign national that is their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child who has no dependent children, provided the sponsor will reside in Canada when the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident.

This exception does not apply to children to be adopted in Canada under paragraph R117(1)(g). In such cases, the sponsor must reside in Canada at the time of application, as the child is not yet considered a dependent child under IRPR until the adoption is finalized.

For more information, refer to Intercountry adoptions: Concepts and best practices.

Role of the case processing centre

Applications to sponsor a child adopted in another country (FC9) or a child to be adopted in Canada (FC6) in connection with an intercountry adoption must be submitted to the case processing centre (CPC) in Canada. The CPC will make a decision on the sponsorship application and issue instructions for medical examination.

Sponsorships of unnamed children

Subsection 10(2.1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) allows the submission of sponsorship and permanent residence applications for intercountry adoption cases where the child had not yet been identified (unknown child). In other words, the application can be submitted, and the approval process starts before certain required information is available.

Some sponsors (the PAP) may not have the full name and date of birth of the child to be adopted at the time of application. Sponsors should complete both the sponsorship application and the permanent resident application for their child with as much information as possible. If the name of the child is not yet known, sponsors should leave the name field blank.

The CPC processes applications to sponsor unnamed children the same way as it does those for named children. CPC staff are encouraged to create unnamed children applications in the Global Case Management System (GCMS) by using the information included in the IMM 0008 form received with the sponsorship application as follows:

It is the sponsor’s responsibility to notify the appropriate migration office once the child is identified. IRCC staff will update the name of the child in the application originally created in GCMS, as well as the child’s Unique Client Identifier (UCI). Name records for both the child’s name at birth (according to the original birth certificate or adoption judgment) and the child’s name following the adoption should be noted.

Changing a child’s name in the IMM 1344 form

If a sponsored child is no longer available for adoption, sponsors may ask the CPC to replace the name of the child on the IMM 1344 form with the name of another child. The CPC must provide the new name to the migration office and the P/T Central Authority.

If the sponsor contacts the migration office first, they should advise the sponsor to provide the name of the new child and a new IMM 1344 form to the CPC and the P/T Central Authority.

The CPC will not charge a new processing fee when it replaces a name for this reason.

Requesting a letter or notice of agreement or a letter of no objection

A LOA/NOA or a LONO is not required to begin processing the sponsorship application. On receipt of a sponsorship application, CPC staff verify completion of the application and send a letter to the P/T Central Authority requesting issuance of either a LOA/NOA (Hague Convention cases) or a LONO (non-Hague Convention cases). For additional information on provincial notification letters, see the provincial notification letters PDI.

There is no requirement for a P/T letter for children adopted outside Canada in cases where adoptive parents were not habitually residing in a Canadian P/T at the time of the adoption, as the P/T Central Authorities have no jurisdiction when the adoptive parents do not habitually reside in Canada.

In cases where the sponsor is a Canadian citizen and is not habitually residing in Canada, officers must check for documentation to show that the sponsor intends to reside in Canada when permanent residence is granted to the child. For additional information on determinations of habitual residence, see the relevant section of the Intercountry Adoptions: Concepts and Best Practices PDI.

Multiple adoptions

Cases may arise where a sponsorship application in support of a child to be adopted (FC6 or FC9) is still pending for one unnamed child, and the sponsor is notified that the birth resulted in multiple children or that there are other siblings available for adoption. If the sponsor wants to adopt the second or more than one child they must complete a separate IMM 1344 form for each child for submission to the CPC with the required documents. CPC staff should review the portal and GCMS for additional applications submitted by the same sponsor and/or co-signer, if applicable.

Payment of fees for all additional new applications is required.

Dual applications for citizenship process and Immigration process

In the event that a sponsor submits an application for the same adopted person under both the Citizenship Act and the IRPA simultaneously, the processing office will send the sponsor a letter asking them to choose which application they want to pursue. If they do not provide instructions as to which application they wish to pursue within thirty (30) days, the citizenship application will be assessed first. If Canadian citizenship is granted, the sponsorship application will be considered as having been withdrawn and the applicable processing fees and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF) will be refunded, if paid.

For additional instructions regarding processing simultaneous applications for the same adopted person under both the Citizenship Act and the IRPA, see CP 14 (PDF, 1.2 MB) section 7.4.

Role of the migration office

Once it has been determined that the sponsor is eligible and meets all sponsorship requirements, the CPC will forward the application for permanent residence to the applicable migration office, who will assess the applicant’s eligibility and membership in the family class, admissibility and ultimately render a final decision.

The following documents must be provided to the migration office:

• identity documents for the child
• final adoption order for an adopted child/FC9 application
• custody order/a decision on the child’s placement (legal or administrative) issued to the prospective adoptive parents (sponsor) for the purpose of adoption to be completed in Canada (FC6)
• passport or travel document for the child

Officers may also request documents such as a birth certificate to establish the birth parents of the child.

For additional information on the assessment of an application for permanent residence under the family class, see Assessment of an application for permanent residence.

Officers must be satisfied that the adoption is not an adoption of convenience.

Requirements specific to Hague Convention cases

Certificate of Conformity

For adopted child (FC9) applications, the Certificate of Conformity (Article 23), issued by the country of origin’s Central Authority, must be requested in addition to the LOA/NOA (Article 17) from the P/T Central Authority. The officer must request the Certificate of Conformity from the P/T Central Authority after the adoption has been finalized in the child’s country of origin and all Hague requirements have been met.

There is no requirement to produce a Certificate of Conformity by the country of origin for non-Hague adoptions or for a child to be adopted in Canada (FC6) application.

Probationary periods

The Hague Convention permits countries of origin to require a probationary period where the child and prospective adoptive parents (PAPs) reside together before the adoption is finalized. This period serves to ensure that the adoption is in the best interests of the child and that the placement is successful before the adoption is finalized. Once the probationary period has been successfully completed the adoption order is then issued by either the child’s country of origin or the Canadian provincial or territorial court, depending on the requirements set by the country of origin. Probationary periods are determined by the requirements of the country of origin and can vary in length from a few days to a 1-year period or more. These periods may take place in either Canada or in the child’s country of origin. The following sections outline these two distinct scenarios.

Probationary period and adoption finalized in Canada

Certain countries, such as the Philippines, require a probationary period in Canada. Once the probationary period is successfully completed, the adoption is finalized in Canada in a provincial or territorial court. As the adoption is finalized in Canada, these applications are processed under the “child to be adopted in Canada” category under R117(1)(g) and coded as “FC6” in GCMS.

Probationary period in Canada and adoption finalized in country of origin

Certain countries, such as Thailand, require a probationary period in Canada, but the final adoption order is issued in the child’s country of origin after the probationary period is completed. In these cases, the children are not considered adopted in Canada under R117(1)(g) and therefore do not fall under the FC6 category.

Permanent Resident Visa Issuance

Parents fully and reliably informed about all aspects of a child’s medical condition

For applications to sponsor an adopted child or child to be adopted in Canada, the sponsoring PAP must provide a written statement (form IMM 0133) acknowledging that they have obtained information about the medical condition of the child, in accordance with R118.

An officer must be in receipt of this statement before a permanent resident visa may be issued. A medical condition statement is issued to the sponsoring PAP with other permanent resident application material. The sponsoring PAP is instructed to sign and return the statement to the IRCC office when they have obtained medical information concerning the child.

Assess admissibility

After applicants are found to be members of the family class, they must be assessed for admissibility. Officers must be satisfied that applicants are not inadmissible.

If the principal applicant is inadmissible to Canada, the application should be refused. The applicant may make a written request for exemptions based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations under subsection 25(1) of IRPA, or officers may put the case forward to the delegated authority to approve the application based on subsection 25.1 on their own initiative.

Reconfirm eligibility

At visa issuance, officers must still be satisfied that applicants and their family members [R1(3)], whether accompanying or not, are admissible and otherwise meet all of the family class requirements of A11(1) as follows:

• they must have an eligible relative who meets the requirements for sponsorship
• they must prove their identity, age and relationship to their sponsor and meet the requirements of the family class
• the applicant and their family members must be admissible
• they must have valid and subsisting passports or travel documents
• they must be coming to Canada to establish permanent residence

Note: If an application is refused on the basis that the child is not a dependent child of the sponsor, for example, and does not comply with the requirement that the P/T issue a LOA/NOA or a LONO as per R117(1)(g)(iii)(B) or R117(3)(e), the sponsor has a right of appeal. However, because the child to be adopted is not a member of the family class as described in R117(1), the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) cannot grant relief based on Humanitarian and Compassionate considerations (H&C) (A65). The IAD may not consider H&C considerations unless it has decided that the foreign national is a member of the family class.

The applicant may make a written request for exemptions based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations under subsection 25(1) of IRPA, or officers may put the case forward to the delegated authority to approve the application based on subsection 25.1 on their own initiative. For more information, refer to H&C considerations: Assessment and processing.

If an officer receives new evidence that the applicant does not meet the requirements after the LOA/NOA or LONO has been issued, the officer must suspend processing and provide that evidence to the P/T Central Authority. For more information on suspending processing after new evidence is received, see: Intercountry Adoptions: Provincial Notification Letters.

Requirements for visa issuance in Hague Convention cases

A permanent resident visa (PRV) may not be issued to a child adopted from a country that has ratified or acceded to the Hague Convention without a LOA/NOA from the P/T Central Authority. Additionally, a PRV may not be issued to a child adopted from a country not party to the Hague Convention without a LONO from the P/T Central Authority. However, a PRV may be issued if the officer determines that there are sufficient grounds for H&C considerations or if the child meets the requirements of R117(1)(f).

Officers should verify that the child has a valid travel document and that the sponsor has the authority to take the child to Canada. A PRV should be issued if the child meets all immigration requirements.

Prior to issuing the PRV, officers must confirm that the P/T Central Authority has not suspended adoptions from the child’s country of origin, and that the country of origin has not imposed restrictions on intercountry adoption. For more information on suspensions and restrictions on adoptions, see Intercountry adoption concepts and best practices.

If issuing a TRP for the probationary period, officers should verify that the child has a valid travel document and that the sponsor has the authority to take the child to Canada since the adoption has not been finalized. Once the adoption has been finalized and the child has met all immigration requirements, a PRV should be issued.

Note: A letter of no involvement (LONI) carries no legal weight or value under IRPA or IPRR. These letters mean that the P/T has neither approved nor chosen to object to the adoption, which is a stand-alone requirement under R117(1)(g) or R117(3). In those circumstances, the requirements of R117(1)(g) or R117(3) are automatically not met.

Please see the Intercountry Adoptions: Provincial Notification Letters PDI for requirements for visa issuance in intercountry adoption cases, including instructions on the procedures to follow when concerns arise after new evidence is received following the issuance of the LOA/NOA or LONO.

Regulatory requirements for adoptions to be accepted for immigration purposes

The table below outlines the regulatory requirements for each category.

Making a final decision

• Admissibility and final decisions on applications in family class

See also:

• Assessment of an application for permanent residence
• Processing Quebec cases