Immigration

By Catherine Sas, Q.C. and Silke Kuhn

It may seem odd that in certain circumstances a grandson or granddaughter can sponsor a grandparent but a father or mother can’t sponsor their child. However, the immigration law surrounding sponsorship is not as straightforward as it seems, and more often than not, as we have come to see as Vancouver immigration lawyers, the reverse is true: it is harder to sponsor a grandparent than a daughter or son.
Under the Family Class, a permanent resident or Canadian citizen has the opportunity to sponsor the immigration of a spouse, parent, grandparent, child, or other specific relative. In the case of dependent children, a father or mother can sponsor a son or daughter as their dependent up until they turn 22 years of age. Unlike with most other Family Class sponsorships, the parent does not need to meet the Low Income Cut-Off figures (LICO) in order to sponsor their child. Furthermore, a dependent child can be allowed to be reunited with their parent(s) even if they have a medical condition that would otherwise make them inadmissible to Canada. These are significant distinctions to facilitate family re-unification in Canada.
On August 1, 2014 the former Conservative Government reduced the cutoff age for a dependent child under Canada’s immigration program from 22 to 19. It is important to note that the current Liberal government restored that age threshold to the original 22 as of October 24, 2017.
Parent and grandparent sponsorship (PGP) differs from that of child sponsorship in several ways. The financial requirements for PGP sponsorship are far more rigorous than that of child sponsorship. For a grandchild to be able to sponsor a grandparent, they are not only required to demonstrate their ability to financially support their grandparent, but they must meet specific income thresholds as reported on three consecutive Notices of Assessments (NOAs) issued by the Canada Revenue Agency, and must exceed the LICO figures by 30%. This is a fairly onerous threshold to meet. In 2018 the income required for a single grandson to sponsor his single grandfather, was $40,379 (and very close to that for the preceding three years). If the grandson was married with two children and he was sponsoring his single grandfather, he would need a combined Canadian family income of $68,358. It does not matter what the grandfather’s income is, as only the Canadian grandson and his spouse’s income are considered for the purposes of meeting the LICO figures.
Furthermore, while dependent children are exempt from being deemed inadmissible if they have a severe medical condition that would demand more care, this exemption doesn’t hold for grandparents. Grandparents must demonstrate that they are medically admissible to Canada meaning that they don’t have a medical condition that could place a significant demand on Canada’s health care system.
Another consideration to keep in mind is the minimum age requirement for sponsors. Both child and grandparent sponsorships require the sponsor to be at least 18 years of age. While most parents who wish to sponsor their child aren’t restricted by this minimum age requirement (it being less likely that they are under 18 years of age), this requirement could theoretically serve as a larger obstacle for parent or grandparent sponsorships. For PGP sponsorship, the age requirement does restrict younger grandchildren from sponsoring their grandparent before they turn 18. However, this age limit is somewhat arbitrary because even if the grandchild could sponsor their grandparent while younger than 18, it is very unlikely that they would meet the burdensome LICO requirements.
Probably the most significant distinction about the two Family Class application processes is that sponsorship of spouses and dependent children is a right of a permanent resident or citizen whereas sponsorship of a grandparent or parent is through an Invitation to Apply (ITA) model. Even where a sponsor meets all the criteria to be eligible to sponsor their grandparent, they may not receive an invitation to apply. This year when the PGP Family Class category opened on January 28, 2019, the full allotment of applications was filled within six minutes! Yes, six minutes! The ITA model for the PGP Family Class sponsorship process adds another hurdle to the path to being able to sponsor a grandparent.
So, while the title question about sponsorship ability does raise a genuine issue, because of lighter financial responsibilities, the exemption from medical inadmissibility for dependent children, and the automatic right of sponsorship, it is typically much easier in Canada’s Family Class immigration program for a father to sponsor his son than for a grandson to sponsor his grandfather.

Indian and Chinese nationals dominated the total number of ‘Invitations to Apply’ (ITA) for permanent residence in Canada last year, according to a new federal government report.
The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s 2018 year-end report for the Express Entry system stated that 46 percent of the ‘‘Invitations to Apply’, went to Indian citizens. China came second with 6,248 ITAs, followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom.
In total, more than 92,000 immigrants were admitted to Canada through Express Entry in 2018, year-end report showed.
“As demonstrated through this report, Express Entry continues to provide a pathway to permanent residence for a range of highly skilled candidates, in a timely manner,” the reports’ authors said.
“IRCC will continue to monitor Express Entry results, at the same time as it maintains its focus on improving and innovating processes and policies, with the aim of ensuring that Canada continues to benefit from immigrants with the diverse skills and experience needed to grow our economy.”
The increase in admissions is in line with Canada’s rising admissions targets for the three Federal High Skilled economic-class immigration programs managed by the Express Entry system — the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and Canadian Experience Class — as well as a portion of Canada’s Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
Canada’s federal government and many of its provinces and territories have immigration streams that are used to select candidates from the Express Entry pool and provide these candidates with the opportunity to apply for Canadian permanent residence.
Canada’s admissions target for the three programs managed by the Express Entry system rose in 2018 and is slated to continue to rise each year through 2021.
Canada has also expanded its admissions target for the PNP, which rose to 55,000 in 2018 and is scheduled to increase each year through 2021.
Many invited candidates are only admitted the following year. IRCC attributed the increase in Express Entry admissions last year to a large number of Federal High Skilled candidates who were processed in 2017 but only admitted in 2018. Additional Express Entry candidates who were processed and admitted through the PNP in 2018 also contributed to the spike, IRCC said.
Admissions include principal applicants and their accom-panying family members.
Express Entry manages the pool of candidates for the Federal Skilled Worker Class, Federal Skilled Trades Class, and Canadian Experience Class.
The year-end report shows that nearly 280,000 Express Entry profiles were submitted in 2018, of which 70 percent were eligible for at least one of the three Federal High Skilled programs.
Federal Skilled Worker Class candidates received 53 percent of ITAs issued in 2018 or 47,523 of 89,800 ITAs.
A total of 10,802 Express Entry candidates with a provincial nomination received an ITA in 2018, up from 8,733 the year before.
Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and British Columbia all saw increases in this category, with Ontario experiencing a year-over-year increase of 3,082 — by far the largest of any Canadian province.
IRCC also noted that Ontario, which is home to major cities such as Toronto and Ottawa, was the destination province for 64 percent of all candidates who applied for Canadian permanent residence through Express Entry in 2018.
Of the 122,247 applications received in 2018, 78,838 had Ontario listed as their province of destination.
British Columbia placed a distant second, with 22,153 applicants listing it as their destination, followed by Alberta (8,868), Saskatchewan (3,708) and Nova Scotia (3,532).
Software Engineer was the most common occupation among those who received an ITA last year, displacing Information Systems Analysts and Consultants, which fell to second place.
Computer programmer remained the third most common occupation, followed by financial auditors and administrative assistants.
Human capital factors include age, proficiency in English and French, education, and work experience. Combined, they provide what is known as a candidate’s core score, which can reach a maximum of 600 points.
The IRCC data shows that 51 percent of Express Entry candidates who received an ITA in 2018 were between the age of 20 and 29.
In terms of education, 48 percent had a Master’s degree or entry-to-practice professional degree and another 42 percent had a post-secondary credential of three years or longer.
A majority of candidates (60 percent) had no Canadian work experience, while 39 percent had five years or more of foreign work experience.
“The evolution of Canada’s Express Entry system has been thrilling to experience and 2018 was no exception, as this report makes clear,” said David Cohen, senior partner with the Campbell, Cohen Canadian immigration law firm in Montreal, who publishes the Canada Immigration Newsletter.
“More than 90,000 foreign workers and their families were welcomed to Canada last year through Express Entry, an unprecedented number that we may see upstaged in the future given the higher targets that Canada has set for 2019 and 2020.”

Most common occupations among invitations issued, 2018
• Software engineers and designers 6,126
• Information systems analysts and consultants 5,429
• Computer programmers and interactive media developers
3,450
• Financial auditors and accountants 2,483
• Administrative assistants 2,335
• Professional occupations in advertising, marketing, and
public relations 2,049
• University professors and lecturers 1,942
• Financial and investment analysts 1,921
• Professional occupations in business management
consulting 1,915
• Advertising, marketing, and public relations managers
1,775
• Other 60,375