Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)

DIVISION 4Permit Holders Class

Marginal note:Permit holder class

64 The permit holder class is prescribed as a class of foreign nationals who may become permanent residents on the basis of the requirements of this Division.

Marginal note:Member of class

65 A foreign national is a permit holder and a member of the permit holder class if

• (a) they have been issued a temporary resident permit under subsection 24(1) of the Act;

• (b) they have continuously resided in Canada as a permit holder for a period of

  • (i) at least three years, if they

    • (A) are inadmissible on health grounds under subsection 38(1) of the Act,

    • (B) are inadmissible under paragraph 42(1)(a) of the Act on grounds of an accompanying family member who is inadmissible under subsection 38(1) of the Act, or

    • (C) are inadmissible under paragraph 42(1)(b) of the Act on grounds of being an accompanying family member of a foreign national who is inadmissible

      • (I) under subsection 38(1) of the Act, or

      • (II) under paragraph 42(1)(a) of the Act on grounds of an accompanying family member who is inadmissible under subsection 38(1) of the Act,

  • (ii) at least five years, if they are inadmissible on any other grounds under the Act, except sections 34 to 35.1 and subsections 36(1) and 37(1) of the Act;

• (c) they have not become inadmissible on any ground since the permit was issued; and

• (d) in the case of a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national meets the selection criteria of the Province.

Marginal note:Becoming a permanent resident

• 65.1 (1) A foreign national in Canada who is a permit holder and a member of the permit holder class becomes a permanent resident if, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) they have applied to remain in Canada as a permanent resident as a member of that class;

  • (b) they are in Canada to establish permanent residence;

  • (c) they meet the selection criteria and other requirements applicable to that class;

  • (d) they hold

    • (i) subject to subsection (4), a document described in any of paragraphs 50(1)(a) to (h), and

    • (ii) a medical certificate — based on the most recent medical examination to which they were required to submit under paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act and which took place within the previous 12 months — that indicates that their health condition is not likely to be a danger to public health or public safety and is not reasonably expected to cause excessive demand; and

  • (e) they and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible on any ground other than the grounds on which an officer, at the time the permit was issued, formed the opinion that the foreign national was inadmissible.

• Marginal note:Criteria in the Province of Quebec

  (2) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(c), the selection criterion applicable to a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec as a permanent resident and who is not a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee is met by evidence that the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national meets the selection criteria of the Province.

• Marginal note:Foreign nationals without a passport or other travel document

  (3) The following foreign nationals who are not holders of a document described in any of paragraphs 50(1)(a) to (h) may submit with their application a document described in paragraph 178(1)(a) or (b):

  • (a) a protected person within the meaning of subsection 95(2) of the Act;

  • (b) a person who was determined to be a Convention refugee seeking resettlement under the Immigration Regulations, 1978, as enacted by Order in Council P.C. 1978-486 dated February 23, 1978 and registered as SOR/78-172, if under the Act or section 69.2 of the former Act, within the meaning of section 187 of the Act,

    • (i) no determination has been made to vacate that determination, or

    • (ii) no determination has been made that the person ceased to be a Convention refugee; and

  • (c) a member of the country of asylum class or the source country class under the Humanitarian Designated Classes Regulations, as enacted by Order in Council P.C. 1997-477 dated April 8, 1997 and registered as SOR/97-183.

• Marginal note:Alternative documents

  (4) A document submitted under subsection (3) shall be accepted in lieu of a document described in any of paragraphs 50(1)(a) to (h) if it satisfies the requirements of paragraphs 178(2)(a) or (b).

DIVISION 5Humanitarian and Compassionate Considerations

Marginal note:Request

66 A request made by a foreign national under subsection 25(1) of the Act must be made as an application in writing accompanied by an application to remain in Canada as a permanent resident or, in the case of a foreign national outside Canada, an application for a permanent resident visa.

Marginal note:Applicant outside Canada

67 If an exemption from paragraphs 70(1)(a), (c) and (d) is granted under subsection 25(1), 25.1(1) or 25.2(1) of the Act with respect to a foreign national outside Canada who has made the applications referred to in section 66, a permanent resident visa shall be issued to the foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national meets the requirement set out in paragraph 70(1)(b) and

• (a) in the case of a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national meets the selection criteria of the Province;

• (b) the foreign national is not otherwise inadmissible; and

• (c) the family members of the foreign national, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible.

Marginal note:Applicant in Canada

68 If an exemption from paragraphs 72(1)(a), (c) and (d) is granted under subsection 25(1), 25.1(1) or 25.2(1) of the Act with respect to a foreign national in Canada who has made the applications referred to in section 66, the foreign national becomes a permanent resident if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national meets the requirements set out in paragraphs 72(1)(b) and (e) and

• (a) in the case of a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national meets the selection criteria of the Province;

• (b) the foreign national is not otherwise inadmissible; and

• (c) the family members of the foreign national, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible.

Marginal note:Accompanying family member outside Canada

• 69 (1) A foreign national who is an accompanying family member of a foreign national to whom a permanent resident visa is issued under section 67 shall be issued a permanent resident visa if, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) the accompanying family member is not inadmissible; and

  • (b) in the case of an accompanying family member who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the family member meets the selection criteria of the Province.

• Marginal note:Accompanying family member in Canada

  (2) A foreign national who is an accompanying family member of a foreign national who becomes a permanent resident under section 68 shall become a permanent resident if the accompanying family member is in Canada and, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) the accompanying family member is not inadmissible; and

  • (b) in the case of an accompanying family member who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the family member meets the selection criteria of the Province.

Marginal note:Requirements — family member

69.1 Subject to subsection 25.1(1), to be considered a family member of the applicant, a person shall be a family member of an applicant both at the time the application under section 66 is made and at the time of the determination of the application.

DIVISION 6Permanent Resident Visa

Marginal note:Issuance

• 70 (1) An officer shall issue a permanent resident visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) the foreign national has applied in accordance with these Regulations for a permanent resident visa as a member of a class referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) the foreign national is coming to Canada to establish permanent residence;

  • (c) the foreign national is a member of that class;

  • (d) the foreign national meets the selection criteria and other requirements applicable to that class; and

  • (e) the foreign national and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible.

• Marginal note:Classes

  (2) The classes are

  • (a) the family class;

  • (b) the economic class, consisting of the federal skilled worker class, the Quebec skilled worker class, the provincial nominee class, the Canadian experience class, the federal skilled trades class, the Atlantic immigration class, the Quebec investor class, the Quebec entrepreneur class, the start-up business class, the self-employed persons class and the Quebec self-employed persons class; and

  • (c) the Convention refugees abroad class and the country of asylum class.

• Marginal note:Criteria in the Province of Quebec

  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), the selection criterion for a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec as a permanent resident and is not a member of the family class is met by evidence that the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national complies with the provincial selection criteria.

• Marginal note:Accompanying family members

  (4) A foreign national who is an accompanying family member of a foreign national who is issued a permanent resident visa shall be issued a permanent resident visa if, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) the accompanying family member is not inadmissible; and

  • (b) in the case of a family member who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the family member complies with the provincial selection criteria.

• Marginal note:Family member

  (5) If a permanent resident visa is not issued to a child as an accompanying family member of a foreign national or the foreign national’s spouse or common-law partner, a permanent resident visa shall not be issued to a child of that child as an accompanying family member of the foreign national.

Marginal note:Issuance — particular Quebec selection cases

71 An officer shall issue a permanent resident visa to a foreign national outside Canada who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec as a permanent resident and does not satisfy the requirements of paragraphs 70(1)(a), (c) and (d) if, following an examination, it is established that

• (a) the foreign national has applied for a permanent resident visa in accordance with these Regulations, other than paragraph 10(2)(c);

• (b) the foreign national may not be issued a permanent resident visa under subsection 176(2) and is not a member of any class of persons prescribed by these Regulations who may become permanent residents or be issued permanent resident visas;

• (c) the foreign national is named in a Certificat de sélection du Québec issued by that Province indicating that the foreign national, under the regulations made under An Act respecting immigration to Québec, R.S.Q., c. I-0.2, as amended from time to time, is a foreign national in a particularly distressful situation; and

• (d) the foreign national and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible.

DIVISION 7Becoming a Permanent Resident

Marginal note:Foreign nationals outside Canada

• 71.1 (1) A foreign national who is a member of a class referred to in subsection 70(2) and is outside Canada must, to become a permanent resident, present their permanent resident visa to an officer at a port of entry.

• Marginal note:Foreign nationals in Canada as temporary residents

  (2) A foreign national who is a member of a class referred to in paragraph 70(2)(a) or (b) and who is a temporary resident in Canada must, to become a permanent resident, present their permanent resident visa to an officer at a port of entry or at an office of the Department in Canada.

Marginal note:Obtaining status

• 72 (1) A foreign national in Canada becomes a permanent resident if, following an examination, it is established that

  • (a) they have applied to remain in Canada as a permanent resident as a member of a class referred to in subsection (2);

  • (b) they are in Canada to establish permanent residence;

  • (c) they are a member of that class;

  • (d) they meet the selection criteria and other requirements applicable to that class;

  • (e) except in the case of a foreign national who has submitted a document accepted under subsection 178(2) or of a member of the protected temporary residents class,

    • (i) they and their family members, whether accompanying or not, are not inadmissible,

    • (ii) they hold a document described in any of paragraphs 50(1)(a) to (h), and

    • (iii) they hold a medical certificate — based on the most recent medical examination to which they were required to submit under paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act and which took place within the previous 12 months — that indicates that their health condition is not likely to be a danger to public health or public safety and, unless subsection 38(2) of the Act applies, is not reasonably expected to cause excessive demand; and

  • (f) in the case of a member of the protected temporary residents class, they are not inadmissible.

• Marginal note:Classes

  (2) The classes are

  • (a) [Repealed, SOR/2017-78, s. 4]

  • (b) the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class; and

  • (c) the protected temporary residents class.

• Marginal note:Criteria in the Province of Quebec

  (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(d), the selection criterion applicable to a foreign national who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec as a permanent resident, and who is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, is met by evidence that the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the foreign national meets the selection criteria of the Province.

• Marginal note:Accompanying family members

  (4) A foreign national who is an accompanying family member of a foreign national who becomes a permanent resident under this section shall be issued a permanent resident visa or become a permanent resident, as the case may be, if following an examination it is established that

  • (a) the accompanying family member is not inadmissible;

  • (b) in the case of a family member who intends to reside in the Province of Quebec and is not a member of the family class or a person whom the Board has determined to be a Convention refugee, the competent authority of that Province is of the opinion that the family member meets the selection criteria of the Province.