2. Learn the rules if IRCC was not already told about the child

You may not be able to sponsor your child if you did not tell Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that you had a child when you became a permanent resident. The same is true if your spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner did not tell IRCC about their child when they became a permanent resident.

The law says you cannot sponsor the child. But IRCC is trying out a policy that says they won’t always enforce this law if the parent got permanent resident status because they:

• are a protected person
• were resettled from outside Canada as a refugee
• were sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner

When the policy will not apply

If telling IRCC about the child would have made the parent inadmissible to Canada, the policy will not apply. For example, this could happen if the child would have been inadmissible because of a health condition.

If the policy does not apply, you need to get legal advice about:

• the risk of losing permanent resident status
• options for the child to come to Canada