James Metcalfe – Pace Immigration: The Minister of Immigration has proposed changes in the definition of dependents under the Immigration Act and Regulations.

The change in definition for dependent children is going to be controversial. I would expect it to come into force on January 1st, 2014. Dependent children will only be included in application if they are 18 years old or younger. There will no exceptions for full time students but there will be an exception for children dependent of parents due to medical conditions.

This is a big departure from the current definition which allows children to be dependents on an application if they were full time students with no upper age limit. This change applies to all categories of applications under the Immigration Act.

In my opinion this change will impact persons in Canada who want to sponsor parents and include their siblings in the application. Skilled worker application on the other hand should not be affected to any extent because the upper age limit for maximum points under the selection criteria has been lowered to 35 from 45 making it more difficult for older workers to qualify.

If you are planning to sponsor a dependent child who is a student and over the age of 18, start the process now. January 2014 will be too late.