Officers would need to examine all family members. This is applicable even if the officers are not processing the family members for permanent residence along with the principal applicant. It is worth highlighting that the authorities exclude family members whom the officers do not examine from the family class. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in R117 (9) (d). As such, the principal applicant would not be able to sponsor them at a later date. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in section 5.12 of OP2.
An inadmissible family member, within or outside of Canada, typically makes the principal applicant inadmissible. This is regardless of whether the family member is seeking permanent resident status or not. This is usually the case in a vast majority of cases. Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) applicants would need to specifically request for exemptions from the requirements specified in A42. The provisions mentioned in A42 require the applicants to ensure that their family members are not inadmissible.
The provisions specified in R30 (1) (a) [refer to Appendix B] specify that officers need to medically examine the family members of the principal applicant. Similarly, the provisions specified in R68 (c) specify that the family members must not be inadmissible for foreign nationals to become permanent residents. But, officers have the authority to waive the requirements specified in R30 (1) (a) and R68 (c).
It is worth highlighting that officers would only be able to provide exemptions from the requirements specified in A42 in exceptional circumstances only. In addition, the officers should only provide an exception in those cases where they find that no other solutions exist for remedying the inadmissibility. Furthermore, officers should only provide exemptions from the requirements specified in A42 when they are satisfied either that:
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The family member is unavailable for examination by the officers or,
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In light of the circumstances concerning the case, it would be unreasonable for the officers to examine the family member concerned
In particular, the officers would need to ensure that they do not provide exemptions from the requirements prescribed in A42 for overcoming a known or suspected inadmissibility of a family member abroad.
The Possible Scenarios Concerning the Examination of Family Members
Officers would typically need to examine family members in the event that:
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A case involves an accompanying family member whom the officers have examine and found inadmissible
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In this scenario, the applicants would need to request an exemption
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Alternatively, the officers could consider giving an exemption under the provisions specified in A25 for overcoming the inadmissibility of the family member
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The responsibility for providing the waiver or preparing the case for the delegated decision maker remains with the office responsible for the principal applicant’s file
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On receiving the A25 waiver for the inadmissibility, the officers do not require a waiver for A42
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A case involves a non-accompanying family members whom the officers have examined and found inadmissible
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In this scenario, the principal applicant becomes inadmissible based on the provisions specified in A42
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As such, the applicant could consider requesting an exemption or the officers could decide to consider an exemption based on their own initiatives
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The delegated decision maker for the principal applicant’s application has the authority for deciding whether to grant an exemption for overcoming the principal applicant’s A42 inadmissibility
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It is worth mentioning that the waiver is not for the actual inadmissibility of the family member; rather, it is for meeting the requirement that the family member must not be inadmissible
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Thus, the non-accompanying family member continues to remain inadmissible, while the provision of the waiver enables the authorities to issue a permanent resident visa to the principal applicant
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A case involves a non-accompanying family member whom the officers cannot examine
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In this scenario, the officers would need to consider whether they have made every possible effort towards having the family member examined
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Thereafter, they would need to notify the applicant that if the applicant receives a waiver for the requirement of examining a family member, the authorities would also bar the applicant from ever sponsoring that particular family member again – in accordance with the provisions specified in R117 (9) (d)
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The authorities have delegated the authority to waive the requirement that officers need to examine any non-accompanying family members so that a foreign national can become a permanent resident to the officers – this is in accordance with the provisions specified in R68 (c)
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