Provincial Nominees- Overaged Dependents

Last Updated on August 29, 2016

Overaged Dependents: As is the case in other immigration classes, a provincial nominee principal applicant might wish to include a daughter or a son in their application. In many cases, this child might not meet the prescribed definition of a ‘dependent child’. As such, the applicant might not be able to include this child as a family member. In some cases, the nominating authority might nominate the overaged dependent child in their own right.

The possibility of a refusal using substituted evaluation arises when:

• The dependent has no work experience and,
• The dependent might not have knowledge of either official language

This possibility of a refusal would take place on the basis that the applicant has not demonstrated the ability to become economically established in Canada.

It is worth highlighting that there is no definition in the legislation for the term ‘become economically established’. As such, the meaning of this term remains open to interpretation. In addition, there is no indication of the exact moment when an applicant must become economically established. As such, the applicant could become economically established immediately upon landing in Canada. Or, the applicant could become economically established after an initial period of adjustment.

However, the manner in which the authorities use this term throughout the economic classes makes it clear that to become economically established means to join and participate in the labour market in Canada. Similarly, it is clear that the prescribed selection criteria do not apply to the Provincial Nominee Class in the same way as they apply to federal skilled workers as well. As such, it becomes easy to conclude that this is the overall intention of the legislation and the Federal Provincial Territorial agreements. Such a definition provides the provinces with some latitude in their nomination decisions.

Thus, for all these reasons, the visa officers would need to, on a case-by-case basis, carefully evaluate the cases of overaged dependents nominated as provincial nominee candidates in their own right. As such, the officers would need to refuse applications if they have strong reasons for believing that the applicant is very unlikely to become economically established. They would need to refuse the application if they find the applicant unlikely to become economically established even:

• In the medium term and,
• With the support of their other family members

On the other hand, the officers have the authority to approve cases where there is some likelihood of a successful settlement within a reasonable time. This is in accordance with the provisions specified in the relevant legislation.

Situations could arise where the officers need to issue visas to overaged dependents who do not have any previous work experience. In this scenario, it is worth highlighting that the officers would need to code these applicants as new workers. For this, it is imperative that they use the code NOC 9914.0 for these workers. Officers would need to code all provincial nominee applicants as new workers if they are dependents and have no previous work experience. By coding them in this manner, the officers enable the authorities to monitor the number of such cases.

Individuals with no intention of joining the market: The most common scenario typically involves older individuals, who have a close tie to a particular province. As such, these individuals feel motivated to retire in that specific province. In many cases, these individuals would have a close relative (such as a daughter or a son) residing in the nominating province. Some individuals are candid enough to state that they have no intention of joining the labour market in the province to the visa officers. Similarly, others mention that they intend to seek work or create a business. However, these individuals are usually not able to satisfy the officer that they have a genuine intention of executing their plans.

The legislation defines the Provincial Nominee Class as an economic class where the authorities assess the applicant on the basis of the applicant’s ability to become economically established in the province. As mentioned earlier, the term ‘become economically established’ denotes (at the very least) the ability to support oneself by participating in the Canadian labour market.

As such, if the officers are not satisfied that the applicant has the intention of participating in the Canadian labour market and that the individual would be able to participate, the officers would need to refuse the application. Doing so is perfectly justified under the prescribed legislations and policy intent. In addition, the National Headquarters (NHQ) would support such refusals as well.

It is worth mentioning that to ‘become economically established’, the individual would need to participate in the labour market in such a manner that enables the applicant to support oneself. Therefore, this participation in the labour market must not merely contribute to the costs of their upkeep. In other words, part-time or casual work would not normally meet the requirements for participating in the labour market in the sense in which the authorities have specified in the legislation