Undeclared Family Members Policy Ended September 10, 2026

Undeclared Family Members Policy Ended September 10, 2026

As of September 12, 2026. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) ended the temporary public policy that could exempt certain previously undeclared family members from the sponsorship bars in Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) paragraphs 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d). The policy ended on September 10, 2026 and was not renewed.

TL;DR

Ended September 10, 2026 and not renewed | IRCC still applies it to eligible applications received May 31, 2019 through September 10, 2026 | New receipts from September 11, 2026 face IRPR 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d) | Sponsor had to be a resettled refugee, protected person, or family-class / SCLPC sponsored relative | Economic-class sponsors were never in this policy

Did the undeclared family members public policy end on September 10, 2026?

Short answer: Yes. IRCC's applicant page now shows Status: Expired. The official public policy text is archived. Both pages, with details dated September 11, 2026, state that the policy allowing certain undeclared family members to be sponsored ended on September 10, 2026. IRCC has not published a replacement instrument on those pages. The expired instrument ran under section 25.2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). It took effect on September 10, 2023 or the signature date, whichever came last, and ended on September 10, 2026. Earlier 2019 and 2021 windows are not a reason to treat a new file as covered.

Who could be sponsored under the expired policy?

Short answer: Previously undeclared family members may have been eligible if they applied to be sponsored as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child, they were not declared or examined when the sponsor became a permanent resident, and the sponsor obtained permanent residence through one of four routes IRCC listed. Those routes are resettled refugee (Convention refugee or a person in similar circumstances), protected person, family-class sponsored spouse, partner, or dependent child, or Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada (SCLPC) class sponsored spouse or common-law partner. The applicant page uses past tense because the policy has ended. Meeting those bullets does not decide a file. Completeness, admissibility, and the grandfather window still matter.

Who was not eligible under this public policy?

Short answer: IRCC says previously undeclared family members were not eligible if declaring or examining them at the time would have made the sponsor ineligible for the class under which the sponsor immigrated. The applicant page gives examples: the sponsor immigrated as a spouse while already married or in a common-law relationship with the undeclared person; the sponsor came as a dependent child while married or in a common-law relationship; or the sponsor came under a program that required them to be single with no dependants. The archived policy also kept all other admissibility and eligibility rules, required the usual family-class or SCLPC fees, and kept Quebec sponsorship undertakings where the sponsor lives in Quebec.

Were economic-class sponsors covered?

Short answer: No. The sponsor pathways in the archived public policy are refugee, protected-person, family-class, and SCLPC routes only. A sponsor who obtained permanent residence through Express Entry, a provincial nominee, or another economic-class program was not in this exemption. Do not treat an economic-class history as a way around IRPR 117(9)(d) or 125(1)(d). Ordinary family immigration and spousal sponsorship rules still apply, including the undeclared-family bars unless another lawful pathway exists.

What happens to applications received from May 31, 2019 through September 10, 2026?

Short answer: IRCC will continue to apply the public policy to eligible applications it received between May 31, 2019 and September 10, 2026. That window is on both the expired applicant page and the archived policy text. It is a receipt window, not a promise that every file in the range qualifies. The application had to be eligible under the policy's conditions. Timing, completeness, and the sponsor's permanent residence class still control the assessment. This article does not decide your file. Check processing times for the sponsorship stream you actually filed.

What do new applications face after September 10, 2026?

Short answer: Applications IRCC receives on or after September 11, 2026 do not get this exemption. IRPR paragraph 117(9)(d) says a foreign national is not a member of the family class by virtue of their relationship to a sponsor if, at the time of the sponsor's own permanent residence application, that foreign national was a non-accompanying family member and was not examined. IRPR paragraph 125(1)(d) says the same for the SCLPC class. Other admissibility and eligibility rules still apply. The expired policy never waived every IRCC requirement. Humanitarian and compassionate consideration under IRPA section 25(1) is a separate statutory pathway. IRCC's two pages for this expiry do not publish H&C instructions for this situation.

When you apply for permanent residence you must declare all family members, even if they are not coming with you. IRCC lists spouse, common-law partner, dependent children, and grandchildren who are dependent children of your dependent children. They must also complete medical exams and pass background and security checks so they can be eligible to be sponsored later where the law allows.

What does "family reunification" mean?

Short answer: In Canadian immigration practice, family reunification usually means using published family-class or related pathways so close relatives can join a citizen or permanent resident in Canada, for example spousal sponsorship or other sponsorship streams. The undeclared-family temporary public policy was a time-limited exemption from specific regulatory bars for certain previously undeclared spouses, partners, or dependent children in those streams. It ended on September 10, 2026. It was not a general family-reunification opening, and it was not parent or grandparent intake. See IRCC's expired applicant page for the classes it actually named.

Can I bring my family to us?

Short answer: It depends on your status in Canada, the relative's relationship to you, and the live IRCC rules for that class. This expired public policy only helped certain previously undeclared spouses, partners, or dependent children where the sponsor had obtained permanent residence through the refugee, protected-person, or family / SCLPC routes listed above. Economic-class sponsors were never in this policy. New applications received on or after September 11, 2026 do not get this exemption. If IRCC already received an eligible file from May 31, 2019 through September 10, 2026, that receipt window is the one IRCC said it will still apply. Confirm the live pages before you act, and use ordinary family immigration rules for any new sponsorship.

How can a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) help?

Short answer: Go Far Global, a Toronto Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) firm, can check whether IRCC received a sponsorship application from May 31, 2019 through September 10, 2026, map the sponsor's permanent residence pathway against the historical classes, and explain what IRPR 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d) mean for a new receipt after expiry. We do not invent eligibility or promise a renewed public policy. If the relative is a spouse or partner, we review the file against current spousal sponsorship rules rather than stretching an archived instrument.

If you want that read on your documents, book a consultation. Other updates: news.

Frequently asked questions

Which family members can sponsor you in Canada?

Sponsorship runs the other way. A Canadian citizen or permanent resident (the sponsor) sponsors an eligible foreign national. Under the expired undeclared-family policy, the foreign national had to apply as a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or dependent child, and the sponsor had to fall within the permanent residence pathways IRCC listed. Parent and grandparent sponsorship is a different program and was not this public policy.

Will there be parent sponsorship programs in Canada in 2026?

Parent and grandparent sponsorship is separate from the undeclared-family temporary public policy that ended September 10, 2026. This article does not invent Parent and Grandparent Program (PGP) intake dates. See our note on IRCC pausing parent and grandparent sponsorship in 2026 and confirm current IRCC openings before you plan a PGP file.

Sources

• Public policy for undeclared family members - Expired - IRCC applicant page, details September 11, 2026
• ARCHIVED consecutive public policy, IRPR 117(9)(d) and 125(1)(d) - ended September 10, 2026, grandfather receipts May 31, 2019 through September 10, 2026
• IRPR section 117 - paragraph 117(9)(d)
• IRPR section 125 - paragraph 125(1)(d)

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice specific to your situation, book a consultation with a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) at gofarglobal.com.