If you have a spouse, common-law partner, or one or more dependent children, you must properly declare these family members on your permanent residence (PR) application, even if they won’t be accompanying you to Canada.
If your family members will be accompanying you, including them in your application is important to ensure that they receive PR status at the same time as you do.
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If you have immediate family members who will not be accompanying you, you’re still required to disclose them on your immigration application, and to demonstrate that they are medically admissible to Canada. Failing to do so may result in the refusal of your application.
What family members must be declared?
For Canadian immigration purposes, family members include
- your spouse or common-law partner;
- your dependent child(ren);
- your spouse or common-law partner’s dependent child(ren); and
- you or your spouse’s dependent child(ren)’s dependent child(ren).
A dependent child is a child under the age of 22 who is not married or in a common-law relationship.
You must disclose all such family members on your application, whether they will be accompanying you to Canada or not.
If any of these family members will be accompanying you, you must declare them as accompanying, in which case they will be included on your permanent residence application, and will receive permanent residence along with you upon the successful processing of your application.
Identify and count dependents properly
For immigration purposes, dependent children include all your children and all your spouse’s children under the age of 22 who are not married or in a common-law relationship, as well as your dependent children’s dependent children.
Notably, this also includes you and your spouse’s children from any previous relationship(s), regardless of whether you or y0ur spouse has custody of them.
For permanent residence, eligibility is based on the child’s age on the program-specific “age lock-in” date—usually the day Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) receives a complete PR application, though some programs lock the age in earlier. Note that to remain a dependent, the child must remain unmarried throughout the PR application process.
Children aged 22 or older may also qualify as dependents if they’ve relied on their parents for financial support since before turning 22 and can’t be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.
Any dependents you include as accompanying on your application will receive permanent residence at the same time as you do upon successful processing of your application.
In the event that a dependent is not initially accompanying you, and listed on your application as non-accompanying, you may be eligible to sponsor them for permanent residence after you’ve become a permanent resident down the line, provided you both meet all criteria.
Regardless of whether dependents are accompanying you or not, they must always be listed on you application, and will count toward the size of your family for determining the amount of settlement funds you require, if applicable.
For more information on settlement funds, visit our dedicated webpage.
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Obtain immigration medical exams for all family members — whether accompanying or not
When you apply for permanent residence, all your family members must complete immigration medical exams (IMEs), regardless of whether they are accompanying you or not.
IRCC requires medical exams for all family members included in the application because they assess medical admissibility at the family-unit level, not only for the people travelling now.
IRCC also explicitly ties the requirement for each of your dependents to be medically admissible to preserving your ability to sponsor them later—meaning that failing to get a medical exam for all dependents can be detrimental for future sponsorship prospects.
Not including medical exams for all family members can result in delayed or stalled processing, or even in the refusal of your application.
Since August 21, 2025, permanent residence applications through Express Entry have required that immigration medical exam results for the principle applicant and all family members be submitted up front at the time of application.
Make your spousal declaration in good faith
When creating an Express Entry profile, it’s possible to list your spouse as non-accompanying.
Listing a spouse as non-accompanying is intended only for situations in which your spouse is truly not expected to accompany you to Canada—or example, on account of family obligations or career constraints in their home country.
If the intention is indeed for your spouse to settle in Canada with you, it is not permitted to list them as non-accompanying for the purpose of increasing your profile’s score under the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS), with the intention of subsequently adding them to your PR application.
Disingenuously declaring your spouse as non-accompanying constitutes misrepresentation, and can lead to the refusal of your application along with a five-year ban on Canadian immigration.
If you do list your spouse as non-accompanying, it should be in good faith, with a clear rationale as to why they are not expected to accompany you.
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