A special public policy that has allowed eligible Canadian permanent residents to sponsor family members to Canada they never declared on their original immigration applications is set to expire on September 10, 2026.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada will stop accepting applications under this public policy for undeclared family members once the deadline passes, and there is no guarantee that the federal government will issue another extension.
Eligible sponsors who have not yet submitted their applications have about three weeks to act before this pathway closes.
The stakes are high for affected families because without this policy, a lifetime ban on sponsoring those undeclared relatives snaps back into effect under federal immigration regulations.
Table of Contents
What Is This Public Policy
Under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, anyone applying for permanent residence must declare all family members at the time of their application, even if those family members are not travelling to Canada.
The declared family members must also complete medical examinations and pass background and security checks before the principal applicant can receive permanent resident status.
If a permanent resident failed to declare a spouse, common-law partner, or dependent child during their original application, paragraphs 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d) of the Regulations impose a permanent lifetime ban on ever sponsoring that person to Canada through the family class.
Stakeholders and the House of Commons Standing Committee on Citizenship and Immigration raised serious concerns about the disproportionate impact of this lifetime bar, particularly on children who had no say in their parent’s application decisions.
In response, IRCC introduced a pilot project through a public policy on September 9, 2019, creating a temporary exemption from the lifetime sponsorship bar for eligible applicants.
A second public policy followed in September 2021 to maintain the exemption during the unprecedented challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The current consecutive public policy took effect on September 10, 2023, signed by then-Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Marc Miller under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
This consecutive policy carries the same eligibility criteria as its predecessors and was designed to allow the department to gather comprehensive data on the population using the exemption while considering potential amendments to immigration legislation.
The policy applies to applications IRCC receives between May 31, 2019, and September 10, 2026, covering the full span of all three consecutive policies.
Who Is Eligible To Sponsor Under This Policy
The public policy exempts specific categories of sponsors from the lifetime bar, but it does not open the door for everyone who failed to declare a family member.
To qualify, the undeclared family member must be applying to be sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child.
The sponsor must have originally obtained their permanent residence through one of four specific pathways.
The first eligible category covers sponsors who were admitted as Convention refugees or persons in similar circumstances under Canada’s resettlement programs.
The second covers sponsors who received permanent residence after being determined to be a protected person through Canada’s asylum and refugee protection system.
The third applies to sponsors who were themselves sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child under the family class.
The fourth covers sponsors who came to Canada as a sponsored spouse or common-law partner under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class.
IRCC selected these categories because they represent the most vulnerable populations affected by the sponsorship bar and pose minimal risk to program integrity.
The department’s reasoning is that undeclared family members of these sponsors would not have been subject to the excessive demand provisions on health or social services under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act in most cases.
These family members would also generally not have been subject to income requirements, meaning their existence would have had limited impact on whether the sponsor’s original permanent residence application succeeded.
Who Cannot Be Sponsored Under This Policy
The policy draws a firm line against cases where the undeclared family member’s existence would have made the sponsor ineligible to immigrate to Canada under the program they originally used.
A sponsor who came to Canada as someone else’s spouse but was actually married to or in a common-law relationship with the undeclared family member at that time cannot use this policy.
A sponsor who arrived as a dependent child on a parent’s application but was married or in a common-law relationship at the time of that application is also excluded.
Sponsors who obtained permanent residence through a program that required them to be single with no dependents cannot sponsor previously undeclared family members under this policy either.
These exclusions exist because declaring the family member at the time of the original application would have disqualified the sponsor entirely, and the policy is not intended to override that fundamental eligibility barrier.
All standard admissibility requirements that are not specifically exempted by this policy continue to apply in full, including criminal inadmissibility, medical inadmissibility, and security screening.
How To Apply Before The Deadline
IRCC has confirmed that there is no separate or special application process for sponsoring undeclared family members under this public policy.
Eligible sponsors must submit their applications through the normal process to sponsor a spouse, partner, or child, and IRCC officers will determine eligibility for the public policy exemption during processing.
The critical factor is that IRCC must receive the application by September 10, 2026.
Spouse, partner and child sponsorship applications must generally be submitted online through the Permanent Residence Portal.
Paper applications are available only where IRCC approves an alternate-format request, including for applicants requiring accommodation. Standard family sponsorship fees apply.
The Right of Permanent Residence Fee increased to $600 on April 30, 2026, for applicants who are required to pay it, while dependent children are exempt from the RPRF.
Sponsors who reside in Quebec must also obtain a sponsorship undertaking from the provincial government, as that requirement is not waived by this federal public policy.
What Happens To Applications Already In Process
Applicants who have already submitted a sponsorship application for an undeclared family member do not need to take any additional action.
IRCC has confirmed that all applications pending on the day the policy expires will be processed in accordance with the public policy provisions, regardless of whether a final decision is reached before September 10.
This means that spousal sponsorship applications currently sitting in the processing queue will still receive the benefit of the exemption even if processing extends well beyond the expiry date.
Current IRCC processing times for spousal sponsorship outside Quebec stand at 17 months for outland applications and 27 months for inland applications, meaning many applications filed now will not receive a decision until 2028.
The fact that pending applications are grandfathered under the policy is significant because it removes the urgency of obtaining a decision before the deadline and shifts the focus entirely to getting the application filed in time.
What Happens If Your Previous Application Was Refused
Sponsors whose applications to sponsor undeclared family members were refused before the original policy took effect on May 31, 2019, are eligible to submit a new application under the current public policy.
This provision gives a second chance to sponsors who were previously barred under the lifetime ban and whose family members now meet the eligibility conditions of the public policy.
However, the new application must still be received by IRCC by September 10, 2026, or the sponsor will lose this opportunity.
Why The September 10 Deadline Matters
This public policy has been extended twice since its original launch in 2019, but there is no official indication from IRCC or the current immigration minister that a fourth consecutive policy will follow.
The federal government’s current immigration priorities are focused on reducing temporary resident numbers, tightening asylum processing under Bill C-12, and meeting the 380,000 annual permanent residence target under the 2026–2028 Immigration Levels Plan.
IRCC’s own policy document states that the department intended to use this consecutive policy period to gather data on the population utilizing the exemption and to consider potential amendments to immigration legislation.
If the government concludes that a regulatory amendment to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations is warranted, the lifetime bar under paragraphs 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d) could be permanently modified or removed.
But if no regulatory change is made and no new public policy is issued, the lifetime ban on sponsoring undeclared family members returns in full force on September 11, 2026.
The original policy document also carries a standard clause noting that this public policy may be cancelled at any time, which means the government retains the discretion to end it even before the scheduled expiry date.
How To Succeed With Your Application Before The Deadline
The single most important step is filing your complete sponsorship application by September 10, 2026.
Confirm that you meet the sponsor eligibility requirements before submitting, because an incomplete or ineligible application will be returned and may not be resubmitted in time.
Gather all required supporting documents, including proof of your original permanent residence pathway and evidence of your relationship with the undeclared family member.
For this public policy, the critical factor is the receipt date, because IRCC must receive an eligible application by September 10, 2026.
Online submission is required for these applications unless IRCC has provided an alternate application format as an accommodation.
Sponsors in Quebec should contact the provincial immigration ministry immediately to initiate the Quebec undertaking process, as that provincial requirement runs on its own timeline independent of the federal deadline.
Consider consulting a regulated Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer if you are unsure whether your specific circumstances qualify under the policy, especially given the new regulatory framework governing immigration professionals that took effect in 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the deadline to apply under the undeclared family members public policy?
IRCC must receive your sponsorship application by September 10, 2026, for it to be processed under the public policy exemption.
Will IRCC extend this public policy again after September 10, 2026?
There is no official confirmation from IRCC or the immigration minister that a fourth consecutive policy will be issued, so applicants should treat September 10 as a firm deadline.
Do I need to use a special application form to sponsor an undeclared family member?
No, you apply through the standard spousal, partner, or child sponsorship process and IRCC determines public policy eligibility during processing.
What happens to my application if it is still being processed after September 10?
Applications received before the deadline will continue to be processed under the public policy provisions even if a decision is not reached until after the policy expires.
Can sponsors who obtained permanent residence through Express Entry or the Federal Skilled Worker Program use this policy?
No, the policy only applies to sponsors who received permanent residence as refugees, protected persons, or through family class sponsorship as a spouse, partner, or dependent child.
Fact-Checked: All information in this article has been verified against the official IRCC public policy document published on canada.ca, the IRCC undeclared family members guidance page, and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations as of August 20, 2026.
Disclaimer: This article is published by Immigration News Canada for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or immigration advice. Immigration rules change frequently, so verify all requirements directly on canada.ca before applying.
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