Eligibility for an immigration loan
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Depending on the purpose, section 289 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) specifies that a loan applicant may be a foreign national applying for permanent residence under any category or a Convention refugee or person in need of protection and their beneficiaries. In addition, Canadian citizens and permanent residents may apply for a loan on behalf of a beneficiary.
Section R288 lists the types of beneficiaries, for example, spouses, partners, dependent children, and other people in a dependent relationship with the loan applicant. Definitions are in listed in section R2.
Although immigrants in other categories (such as the federal skilled worker class and family class) are authorized to apply for loans, they are obliged to have funds at their disposal and thus would not need an immigration loan.
As an exception, a loan may be authorized to these applicants in the following circumstances:
- skilled workers who are also refugees (on a pilot basis)
- family class applicants for whom the Immigration Loans Program (ILP) is the lender of last resort