Permanent residence pathway: Foreign nationals who were in state care – Admissibility

Before granting permanent residence, officers conduct a final assessment of admissibility. The principal applicant and the family members included in their application must not be inadmissible on any grounds (such as criminality, security and health) other than those explicitly exempted under the eligibility criteria of the public policy.

Inadmissibility should be considered at the stage at which it is known by the officer.

On this page

• Determining admissibility
• Applicants with active immigration warrants
• Inadmissible principal applicant or family members

Determining admissibility

Once the delegated officer has determined that a principal applicant is eligible under the public policy and approved their application in principle, the principal applicant and their family members, whether accompanying or not, must

• complete medical examinations if required
• pass criminal and security checks
• provide biometrics if required

The processing office will request that the principal applicant and their family members submit police certificates from every country in which they have lived for six consecutive months or longer since they were 18, excluding Canada. Officers may also make determinations on criminal inadmissibility using other reliable documentation when police certificates are not available. See Police certificates for immigration and citizenship for more information.

Applicants with active immigration warrants

An individual who is the subject of an immigration warrant may apply under this public policy. When the delegated officer determines that the applicant meets the conditions of the public policy, they will advise the nearest Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) inland enforcement office. CBSA will review the case, determine what action will be taken and communicate their decision to IRCC.

Inadmissible principal applicant or family members

After reviewing the application, if the officer determines that the principal applicant or their family member is inadmissible for reasons other than the reasons exempted under the public policy, the officer should

• outline their concerns to the applicant in a procedural fairness letter
• provide an opportunity for the applicant to address these concerns by submitting additional information about the possible inadmissibility

If no additional information is provided by the deadline or if the additional information does not change the inadmissibility assessment, the officer refuses the application following the guidelines in Making a final decision.

Non-accompanying family members must be declared and examined for criminality and security purposes.