Age of Dependent Child - now 'under 22'

by Rekha McNutt

Today is the day! The age of dependent children is to revert back to 'under 22'. You can read the original release here.

The previous changes had lowered the age of dependent children to under 19 and removed the exception for those enrolled in post-secondary education.

Going forward, a "dependent child" is any biological or adopted child of the parent, who is in one of the following situations of dependency:

• Is under 22 and not a spouse or common-law partner;
• is 22 or older but has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition 

Those who have pending permanent residence applications can now add their under 22 children to their application, if they were formerly prevented from doing so when the age limit was under 19. Those whose permanent residence applications have been finalized may be in a position to sponsor their under 22 child.