IRCC Claims Family Sponsorship Exemption Ended Due to ‘Integrity Concerns’

The temporary public policy ended on September 10, 2026, after being available in different forms for seven years.

The temporary policy applied to several groups of permanent residents. It included certain refugees and protected persons, as well as people who had originally become permanent residents after being sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child.

For people who qualified, the policy provided an important exception to a rule that can otherwise permanently prevent a permanent resident from later sponsoring a family member they did not declare before coming to Canada.

IRCC will continue applying the exemption to eligible sponsorship applications received by September 10. Applications submitted after that date cannot benefit from the policy.

Key Takeaways

• IRCC ended its undeclared family member exemption for family sponsorship on September 10, 2026, after seven years.
• The exemption covered undeclared family members of some refugees, protected persons, and people who had themselves previously been sponsored by family.
• IRCC has cited potential program integrity concerns, despite earlier assessments finding relatively little risk.
• People who no longer qualify for the exemption may need to request humanitarian and compassionate consideration.

Why IRCC Created the Sponsorship Exemption for Undeclared Family Members

Canada normally requires permanent residence applicants to declare all immediate family members, including those who are not accompanying them to Canada.

These family members generally need to undergo the required medical, background, and security checks.

If someone becomes a permanent resident without declaring and having a family member examined when required, that family member is typically excluded from the Family Class or the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class. This can create a lifetime sponsorship bar.

In 2019, IRCC introduced an exemption because of concerns that this rule could have disproportionately serious consequences for some families. The exemption was originally introduced as a two-year pilot. It was subsequently renewed, allowing eligible families to rely on the policy for approximately seven years.

Who Qualified for the Undeclared Family Member Exemption

However, this public policy exemption was not available to everyone who failed to declare a family member.

It applied only in cases where the sponsor originally became a permanent resident as a refugee or protected person, or after being sponsored themselves as a spouse, partner or dependent child.

It was particularly beneficial for certain refugees and protected persons, who may have been separated from their family members, making it difficult to communicate with them and get them examined.

The policy did not allow someone to sponsor an undeclared family member if declaring that person would have made the sponsor ineligible for permanent residence in the first place. For instance, if an undeclared family member had a serious criminal background and would have been inadmissible to Canada, this exemption would not have applied to them.

That meant the policy provided a limited exception rather than removing the requirement to declare family members altogether.

IRCC Cites Potential Integrity Concerns

IRCC has now said that potential integrity concerns were among the reasons for ending the policy.

This raises further questions because the department’s earlier assessments of the exemption had been considerably more positive.

When IRCC extended the original policy in 2021, and then again in 2023, it described the affected group as presenting a minimal risk to program integrity. The department explained that these family members generally would have had limited impact on whether their sponsors originally qualified for permanent residence.

According to a 2023 IRCC memo reported on by The Canadian Press, about 2,000 applications had been received under the policy and approximately 90% were approved. The memo reportedly continued to assess the risk to program integrity as minimal.

That assessment was consistent with IRCC’s publicly stated rationale for the policy. The department said the affected family members posed a “minimal risk to program integrity” because declaring them would generally have had little impact on whether the sponsor’s original permanent residence application was approved.

For example, spouses, partners and dependent children are generally exempt from being found medically inadmissiblebecause of health conditions that could place an excessive demand on Canada’s health or social services. In most cases covered by the policy, sponsors also would not have been subject to minimum income requirements.

This meant that even if these family members had been declared and examined at the time, they generally would not have changed whether the sponsor qualified for permanent residence.

It is notable that in the seven years it was active, the policy and its subsequent extensions received signoffs from three different immigration ministers – Ahmed Hussen, Marco Mendicino, and Marc Miller.

This history makes IRCC’s reference to potential integrity concerns significant. So far, the department has not publicly provided detailed information explaining what changed or what specific integrity problems emerged. In addition to an explanation, refugee activists have also asked current immigration minister Lena Diab to reconsider the termination of the policy.

What Happens If You Did Not Declare a Family Member in Your PR Application?

With the exemption no longer available for new applications, some potential sponsors may once again face a sponsorship bar for family members they did not declare or have examined when they applied for permanent residence.

Under IRCC’s regular sponsorship rules, these family members are excluded from both the Family Class and the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class. This can prevent you from sponsoring them for permanent residence through the usual family sponsorship process.

IRCC will continue to process eligible applications that were received between May 31, 2019, and September 10, 2026, under the temporary public policy. However, no new applications will be accepted.

Humanitarian and Compassionate Grounds May Still Exist

If you have an undeclared family member and did not apply to sponsor them before the exemption ended, you may still be able to ask IRCC to make an exception based on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations. However, this is not a direct replacement for the expired policy.

A request based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds is assessed on a case-by-case basis, meaning IRCC must decide whether your individual circumstances justify an exemption. Moreover, the current processing time estimate for H&C applications is over 10 years, and merely filing an application does not allow the applicant to stay or come to Canada. This creates considerably more uncertainty for affected families.

If you are affected by the end of the exemption and had not already applied under the temporary public policy, you may want to speak to a regulated immigration consultant about the options available in your circumstances.

Canada Could Still Change the Undeclared Family Member Rules

The end of the temporary policy may not necessarily be the final word on this issue.

According to IRCC’s Forward Regulatory Plan for 2026-2028, the government is considering amendments to the regulations governing undeclared and unexamined family members.

The proposed changes would potentially make it easier to sponsor someone where their original non-declaration or non-examination would not have materially affected the sponsor’s permanent residence application.

However, these proposed amendments are still in the exploratory stage. It is also unclear whether IRCC will still move forward with the proposed amendments, now that integrity concerns have been raised.

For now, there is a gap between the expiry of the seven-year public policy and any possible permanent solution.

If you are applying for permanent residence today, the safest approach is to declare all of your family members and have them examined, including those who are not accompanying you to Canada. Failing to do so could affect your ability to sponsor them in the future.