Lock-in age of dependent children for immigration applications
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by Rekha McNutt
When you immigrate to Canada, bringing your family with you is extremely important, especially your children. Only a “dependent child” can be included on your immigration application. Here’s the definition of “dependent child”:
Your biological or adopted child who is:
under the age of 22 and not him/herself a spouse or common-law partner; or
is over 22 but has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before attaining the age of 22 years and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition
The important question is at what point in time is age relevant, and what happens if your child turns over 22 while the application is in process?
It’s important to understand something called the “lock-in date”. That is the date on which your application is “locked-in” and any changes to the ages of your children no longer matters, regardless of how long the application takes to process.
The short answer is that your children’s ages are locked-in on the date Canada immigration receives your application. Here are a few examples:
Family class, humanitarian and compassionate, federal economic class - the date CIC receives the permanent residence application;
Privately sponsored refugees - Date IRCC receives a complete application for permanent residence, together with a complete sponsorship undertaking
Provincial nominees - Date the province or territory receives the principal applicant’s complete nomination application
Caregiver applications - Date IRCC receives a complete permanent residence application from the principal applicant
Express Entry - once your Application for Permanent Residence is submitted (not when your profile is created, or even when you are invited)
Understanding who is your “family member” is crucially important. Contact us if you have any questions about this!