IRCC Minister Transition Binder 2021: Family Reunification

Context

• The Family Reunification Program allows Canadians and permanent residents to sponsor certain categories of family members to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents.
• The Program delivers the Family Class component of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), sub-section 12(1).
• One of three pillars of permanent immigration to Canada (alongside economic immigration and refugee protection), the Program reflects the IRPA objective “to see that families are reunited in Canada”.
• Categories of persons who may be sponsored include:
  • Spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners
  • Parents and grandparents
  • Dependent children
    • Defined largely as under age 22; biological or adopted, including intercountry adoptions
  • Other relatives in special circumstances
    • e.g. orphaned relatives under 18; last remaining relative

Canada’s robust Family Reunification Program helps attract highly skilled economic immigrants.

Current Program

The Family Reunification Program typically represents 27%^Footnote1 of all permanent immigration to Canada; but this figure does not include accompanying family members admitted through other permanent resident programs (e.g. economic and refugee programs).

The Program supports the reunification of separated, pre-existing families

• Sometimes family members have been separated for years (e.g. parents, grandparents), or only able to visit temporarily.

Family formation is also facilitated. For example:

• New couples form and one of them applies to immigrate (e.g.: an international student or visitor who becomes a spouse or a common-law partner with a Canadian, while in Canada).
• International adoptions occur in which a new parent-child relationship is formed.
• The majority of sponsored spouses/partners are female, as are most parents/grandparents and their sponsors.
• In 2020, the top five countries of citizenship (India, China, Philippines, United States, and Pakistan) represented 45% of newcomers admitted under the Family Reunification Program.
• In 2020, family immigration (through both family reunification and accompanying family in economic and refugee streams), made up 59% of all permanent resident admissions. See Annex A for further details, similar to other recent years.

Family Reunification Program Admissions 2010 to 2020

Program criteria is centred on the relationship to a sponsor, rather than human capital considerations

A Sponsor…

• must be Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or status Indian residing in Canada (with certain exceptions^Footnote2)
• signs an undertaking to support their sponsored family member for a period of time – between 3 years (spouses and partners) and 20 years (parents and grandparents)
• is responsible for repaying any provincial social assistance given to the sponsored person during the undertaking period

Two core categories

Spouses, Partners, and Children

• Admissions target is 80,000 for 2021
• Service standard of 12 months for overseas spouses and partners (current processing time is 18 months)
• No service standard for in-Canada spouses and partners

Measures for victims of family violence: Since 2019, spouses/partners in Canada who have submitted an application as a sponsored spouse/partner and are experiencing abuse on the part of their sponsor may apply for a temporary resident permit (TRP) and/or expedited humanitarian and compassionate permanent resident (PR) application.

Parents and Grandparents

• Admissions target is 23,500 for 2021
• Annual intake limits/caps since 2014 to manage inventory and processing times
• No processing service standard. Current processing time^Footnote3 is 28 months; expected to increase significantly with 2021 intake of applications
• Sponsors must meet income requirement

Super Visa: Since 2011, parents and grandparents may access a special temporary resident visa valid for up to 10 years that allows stays in Canada of up to 2 years at a time. 

Outcomes

• The Family Reunification Program interacts with other immigration and refugee programs and complements them (e.g. an economic immigrant later sponsors a spouse or parents).
• Immigrants are attracted to Canada, settle well in Canada, and remain long term in part because of a robust family reunification system.

Spouses and Partners

Scale

• Constitute the vast majority of sponsored family members (73%).^Footnote4

Economic Outcomes

• The incidence of employment is similar to the overall average for immigrants; annual earnings are slightly lower.
• Sponsored families contribute as economic enablers, for example, through the provision of child care, which allows sponsors to work or upgrade skills.

Non-Economic Outcomes

• Admission of family members is considered to have a beneficial impact on the settlement of all parties. Family provides emotional and social support; parents and grandparents help transfer culture to their grandchildren.

Retention

• Evidence suggests that immigrants coming to Canada to join family members may be more likely to remain in Canada.

Spouses and Partners

Scale

• Constitute 21%^Footnote4 of sponsored family members with demand significantly outstripping available admissions space.

Economic Outcomes

• Given the average age at arrival, they are not expected to contribute significantly to the labour market.
• Sponsored families contribute as economic enablers, for example, through the provision of child care, which allows sponsors to work or upgrade skills.

Non-Economic Outcomes

• Admission of family members is considered to have a beneficial impact on the settlement of all parties. Family provides emotional and social support; parents and grandparents help transfer culture to their grandchildren.

Retention

• Evidence suggests that immigrants coming to Canada to join family members may be more likely to remain in Canada.

COVID-19 Impacts and Responsive Measures

The pandemic negatively impacted processing and admissions in 2020. Sponsors and stakeholders continue to press the Department for updates on processing.

• Prior to the pandemic, all family class applications were paper and submitted by mail.
• The Department continues to process applications, using innovations such as digitizing paper-based applications, and introducing digital application systems.
• Border closures were addressed with exemptions for immediate and extended family members, indicating the widely recognized importance of allowing families to be together.

Recent Developments

Parents & Grandparents:

• Intake of applications is a two-stage process established through Ministerial Instructions each year:
  • Interested sponsors submit an Interest to Sponsor form
  • The Department selects and invites a limited number of interested sponsors to submit applications
• For the 2020 intake, the Department reintroduced a random selection model and set a limit of 10,000 applications. This intake is being challenged in Federal Court.
• The 2021 intake was announced for a September launch to accept a limit of 30,000 new applications randomly chosen from existing 2020 Interest to Sponsor forms. For the first time, applicants would be required to submit applications via the Online Digital Portal.
• If application limits are set above the number needed to meet annual admission targets (23,500 persons), this would result in growing inventory.
• The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal is seized with a complaint alleging that longer processing times for parents and grandparents, compared to other family class, are discriminatory.

Spouses & Partners:

• Processing times affected by the pandemic are stressful for many applicants, some of whom do not qualify for a visitor visa while waiting. Refusals of some visitor applications from sponsored spouses/partners have led to calls to introduce a special temporary resident visa for sponsored spouses/partners.
• The Department continues to focus resources on processing permanent residence applications, and introduced an advanced analytics process to support decision-making for spousal applications.
• The Department continues to implement measures that assist applicants affected by family violence.

Key Takeaways

• The Family Reunification Program represents about 27% of total immigration to Canada, complements other immigration streams, and brings economic and social benefits to Canada.
• The pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of family reunification to Canadians.
• Pressures on the Parents and Grandparents Program arise from demand routinely outstripping admission targets and from persistently long wait times.
• Overall family immigration through all programs made up 59%^Footnote5 of permanent resident admissions in 2020.

Important Next Steps – Parents and Grandparents:

• Ministerial Instructions will need to be signed before December 31, 2021 to authorize an intake of parents and grandparents applications in 2022 or to pause the intake of new applications.

Annex A: Overview of family immigration in Canada

Family immigration In 2020: 109,027 (59% of total PR admissions of 184,594)

Family reunification

Under the Family Reunification Program (FRP):

• Spouses/partners and dependants: 73% of FRP admissions
• Parents/grandparents and dependants: 21% of FRP admissions
• Dependent children: 5% of FRP admissions
• Other relatives: 0.5% of FRP admissions

Accompanying family

Under immigration programs other than the FRP:

Accompanying family members represent:

• 44% of economic immigrants
• 47% of refugees/protected persons
• 37% of humanitarian and compassionate immigrants
• 47% of immigrants approved under a public policy

Family formation

Under the Family Reunification Program (FRP):

Spouses and partners:

• 99.5% spouses or common-law partners
• 0.5% conjugal partners

International adoptions

Under Family Reunification Program (FRP):

• 98 admissions
• less than 0.2% of FRP admissions

Data based on 2020 admissions.