Canada Alert: 19+ youth no longer dependents

From as early as the beginning of next month, children above the age of 19 will no longer be considered dependents of families migrating to Canada.

Starting August 1, the cut-off age of a dependent child accompanying a parent who migrates to Canada will be reduced to 19 years, from the previous age cap of 21 years old, announced the Canadian Government.

A dependent child under the new definition will be the biological or adopted offspring of an applicant for migration to Canada, 19 years or younger, and be neither married nor in a common-law relationship.

If the child is older than 19 and financially dependent on the parents due to a mental or physical condition s/he can still be considered a dependent.

However, this is no longer the case for children who are relying on the financial support of the parents due to their studies. In this case, the young adult will have to apply for residency individually.

“Business applicants, since they usually apply in their mid-40s sometimes have children already older than 18. Also, applicants from regions such as the Middle East tend to marry young. By their mid-40s they may have a few kids above 18. They are also very attached to each other and migration will be harder when children are left behind,” said Sam Bayat, immigration lawyer and owner of Bayat Legal Services in Dubai.

“If one or more of their children are no longer considered a dependent child and cannot accompany them, many potential immigrants may choose not to come to Canada,” the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) writes on its website.

However, these regulations do not go into effect until August 1 and will not be applied retroactively to applications submitted before August; so there is still time to benefit from the current rules, the CIC pointed out.

Canada wants to catch ’em younger

The radical changes are explained as to stimulate the economic feasibility of Canadian immigrants. Older dependent children have lower economic outcomes than those who arrive in Canada at a younger age, because older immigrants have a more challenging time fully integrating into the Canadian labour market, argues the Canadian Government.

Thus, when 19-years-old or above, the applicant will need to provide evidence of personal merits suited to one of the immigration programs.

However, due to the focus of many such programmes on work experience, young applicants might be narrowed down in their options considerably.

“The reality is that kids live longer with their parents because they study longer. Canada, by reducing the age of dependent children, is losing good prospect immigrants. Many immigrants will not dislocate their family just to migrate,” Bayat said.

Alternative options

As an alternative option, children older than 19 may decide to come to Canada as an international student. When acquiring work experience after graduation and meet other applicable requirements, these young adults become eligible for application under the Canadian Experience Class (CEC). The processing fee for dependent children is now CAD150 (Dh517).

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