Canadian immigration authorities have made some changes to family class sponsorship & work permit programs over the last 12 months. In addition to adding several pathways for family members of Canadians in conflict areas, IRCC made significant changes to Spousal Open Work Permit eligibility. Here’s a review of Canadian family class immigration.
So, without further ado, let us begin!
Cutback Of Family Class Sponsorship Allocations In 2025
In the review of Canadian family class immigration, the first thing to know is that as part of a reduction in overall immigration labels, IRCC has cut landings allocations for the family class sponsorship in 2025. This change applies to the sponsorship of:
- Spouses
- Common-Law & Conjugal Partners
- Dependent Children
- Parents & Grandparents
The following table breaks down the differences in family class allocations between 2024 & 2025 targets:
| Sponsorship Type | 2024 Target | 2025 Target |
| Spouses, Partners, & Children | 82,000 Landings | 70,000 Landings |
| Parents & Grandparents | 32,000 Landings | 24,500 Landings |
Note that these figures detail landings and not applications accepted. A landing is the final step of the Canadian immigration process, wherein a foreign national comes to Canada and signs their Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR), formally accepting their new permanent resident status.
Due to processing times, many landings within a year might take place from applications submitted in the last year.
Depending on the demand for family class sponsorship, the reduction in landing targets might lead to delays in processing these kinds of applications.
Spouses and partners of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are being sponsored do have options to remain in Canada temporarily while their applications for permanent residence are being processed.
Changes To Spousal Open Work Permit Eligibility
2024 saw major changes to the eligibility criteria for Spousal Open Work Permits for certain groups.
Effective from March 19, 2024, spouses and common-law partners of international students will only be eligible for a SOWP if their sponsor is enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program. Exceptions were made for spouses of students in certain professional degree programs such as medicine, law, and engineering.
More changes in September 2024 were declared, further limiting SOWP eligibility to spouses of master’s students whose program is at least 16 months long. The immigration department expects this change to result in 50,000 fewer permits issued over the next three years.
In the same September declaration, IRCC also clarified new changes to SOWP eligibility for the spouses of temporary foreign workers in Canada. The immigration department confirmed that they would plan to reduce SOWP eligibility to the spouses of temporary foreign workers working in highly skilled and specialized professions. These professions would include C-suite executives, scientists, engineers, lawyers, professors, technicians, or spouses of workers in sectors with key labor shortages. IRCC expects this change to result in 100,000 fewer SOWPs issued over the next three years.
Changes declared in September have not yet been implemented at the time of writing.
Changes To Quebec Family Sponsorship
The next thing to know under the review of Canadian family class immigration is changes to Quebec family sponsorship.
Quebec introduced major changes to its family reunification pathways in 2024, as provincial and federal governments found themselves at odds initially addressing the growing demand for family sponsorship applications.
Quebec’s family reunification process drew renewed attention early in 2024 for extended wait times. In response, Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller took action to address these delays, directing his department to process up to 20,500 family reunification applications from individuals who had already obtained a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ).
This was despite the provincial government’s annual cap of approximately 20,000 applications.
This intervention was necessary to meet federal service standards and reduce the lengthy processing times that up to 26 months, majorly exceeding federal timelines.
As part of a slew of cutbacks, Quebec’s Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration instead imposed a new family sponsorship cap, effective from June 2024 until June 25, 2026.
Under this new policy, the Quebec immigration department has set a limit of 13,000 family sponsorship applications over the forthcoming two years. Of this total, 10,400 applications will be allocated to spouses, common-law partners, and dependent children aged 18 and older, while 2,600 will be designated for parents, grandparents, as well as other eligible family members. The cap does not apply to dependent minor children or other family situations, ensuring that those in critical need of sponsorship are unaffected.
Introduction Of Advanced Automation For Family Class Family Sponsorship
IRCC declared the introduction of advanced automation tools to improve the efficiency of processing spousal and partner sponsorship applications.
The new tools to apply machine learning to streamline the approval process for routine cases and reduce the time spent on manual reviews. While these tools cannot approve or deny applications on their own, they aim to accelerate the initial stages of the application process, helping reduce wait times for applicants.
These new processing features will help in assessing applications for the sponsorship of:
- Spouses
- Common-Law Partners
- Conjugal Partners
Re-opening Of The Parents & Grandparents Program
The Parents & Grandparents program for 2024 opened on May 21, with IRCC issuing 35,700 ITAs for family sponsorship. IRCC aimed to approve 20,500 complete applications for permanent residence through this round of invitations.
Sponsors who have submitted an ‘Interest to Sponsor’ form in 2020 were eligible for these invitations. 2024 marked the fifth year in a row that IRCC only considered interest to sponsor applications from the 2020 PGP intake.
Sponsorship applicants who obtained an ITA through the 2024 round needed to submit a complete application for sponsorship by August 2, 2024.
Temporary Resident Pathway For Families Of Canadians In Gaza
The next thing to know under the review of Canadian family class immigration is the ongoing crisis in Gaza. In response to this crisis, the Canadian government has introduced a Temporary Resident pathway to offer a “temporary safe haven” for extended family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents in the region.
This pathway targets a range of family members of Canadians, including spouses, common-law partners, children, parents, grandparents, siblings, and their immediate family members such as spouses and dependent children. Moreover, temporary resident visas issued via this program are valid for up to three years or until the foreign national’s passport expires.
IRCC has also highlighted support measures for these families, including access to settlement services, health coverage under the Interim Federal Health Program, and the ability to apply for free-exempt study or open work permits.
This initiative will continue until April 22, 2025. Special attention is also given to prioritizing permanent residence applications for Palestinians in family-based streams.
New Family Sponsorship Pathway For Sudanese Family Members Of Canadians
IRCC has also unveiled a new family sponsorship pathway for individuals affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
This temporary measure allows Sudanese family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to apply for temporary and permanent immigration to Canada until October 27, 2025.
This pathway will allow Sudanese family members of Canadians to apply for:
- An Open Work Permit
- A Study Permit
- A Visitor Record
- A Temporary Resident Permit
- Permanent Residence as a Sponsored Spouse, Partner, or Child
In order to be eligible, sponsored applicants should have entered Canada before July 15, 2023.
Family members sponsored via this pathway should be:
- A spouse or common-law partner
- A dependent child
- A dependent child of a dependent child
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