Q & A: Medical Condition of a Dependent Applicant

Q. A dependent daughter has been diagnosed with Polio. She has problems in both of her feet. Other than that she is smart and doing well in school. What would be the impact of such a condition on the application.

Answer: The medical officer's handbook does not provide any specific information on Polio.

The legal imperative for the Medical Officer is to identify "inadmissible persons" according to two principal criteria:

* danger to public health or safety; and
* actual or potential demand on health or social services.

As well, in assessing admissibility, the Medical Officer must use supporting criteria described in Section 22 of immigration Regulations, 1978:

"For the purpose of determining whether any person is or is likely to be a danger to public health or to public safety or whether the admission of any person would cause or might reasonably be expected to cause excessive demands on health or social services, the following factors shall be considered by a
Medical Officer in relation to the nature, severity or probable duration of any disease, disorder, disability or other health impairment from which the person is suffering..."

In the event of inadmissibility of a dependent applicant for medical reasons, the entire application is typically refused.

Additional information at: http://canadavisa.com/documents/medical.html