New permanent residence pathway for former minors in protective care
Ottawa, January 23, 2024—A small number of individuals who came to Canada as minors never obtained permanent residence or citizenship while they were in the custody of child protection services. As a result, some of these vulnerable people who never had status—or lost it—are now at risk of being deported to their country of birth. After living in Canada for years, many have little or no connection to their country of birth, and often do not speak the language.
Canada is committed to addressing the situation and providing fair and equal access to Canada’s immigration system. That’s why Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced a public policy to provide a permanent residence pathway for individuals who came to Canada as minors, were placed in protective care, and never obtained permanent residence or citizenship status as a result. This public policy is in force until January 21, 2027.
This new permanent residence pathway builds on previous measures introduced in fall 2023. As of September 29, 2023, through the introduction of new ministerial instructions, eligible individuals previously in child protection services have been able to apply for a temporary resident permit (TRP) and a work or study permit. The TRP provides temporary resident status and reduces the risk of removal from Canada. Those who were eligible for the TRP will now be able to apply for permanent residence through this pathway.
Who can apply
For the purposes of this public policy, being in state care means:
- you were under the legal responsibility of a child and family services provider
- the responsible provincial or territorial authorities obtained full legal “parental” responsibilities for you by court order
- If you applied for the temporary resident permit
- If you applied for and obtained a temporary resident permit (TRP), your TRP is still valid until the expiry date shown on the permit or we approve your application for permanent residence
- During the application process for permanent residence, you might have to submit some of the same documents you submitted for the TRP application.
Eligibility for permanent residence
To be eligible to apply, you must:
- have come to Canada before you were 19 years old
- have continuously resided in Canada for at least 3 years before you apply
- have continuously resided in Canada since you were 19 years old (if you’re now over 19 years)
- have been under the legal responsibility of a child and family services provider under a provincial or territorial government’s designated ministry for child protection for at least 1 year (cumulative)
- be physically present in Canada when you submit your application and when we grant you permanent residence
- intend to reside in a territory or province other than the province of Quebec
- not be a person against whom there are serious reasons for considering that
- you have committed a crime against peace, a war crime or a serious non-political crime outside of Canada
- you have been guilty of acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations
- have a valid
- passport
- travel document
- identity document, or
- statutory declaration
- not be inadmissible to Canada
- Exceptions for inadmissibility
- Who you can include in your application
- You can include your eligible family members in Canada in your application.
You must declare all your accompanying family members as well as your non-accompanying family members in your application. If you don’t include your non-accompanying family members, you won’t be able to sponsor them as family members later.
Definition of a family member
A family member is defined as:
- your spouse or common-law partner
- your or your spouse or common-law partner’s dependent child
- the dependent child of a dependent child