We Had a Baby After We Applied: Add to Canadian Sponsorship

You submitted your spousal sponsorship application and then, a few months later, you found out your family was growing. Your baby was born after you filed. Now you are wondering whether you can add this child to the existing application, or whether you have missed the window to include them.

The short answer is yes, you can add a newborn to a spousal sponsorship application after it has been submitted. But the process requires prompt action, and the steps need to be followed correctly.

When a child is born after a sponsorship application has been filed, that child becomes a new dependent who needs to be declared to IRCC. Failing to disclose a qualifying dependent, even when they did not exist at the time of the original application, creates problems.

The timing of the disclosure matters. Acting as soon as possible after the birth gives IRCC the information needed to assess the child as part of the existing application. Waiting too long, or simply not reporting the birth, risks having the child treated as an undisclosed dependent, which has lasting immigration consequences.

IRCC’s expectation is that you notify them of any material change in your circumstances promptly. The birth of a child is a material change.

The process for adding a newborn to an in-progress application involves notifying IRCC through the appropriate channel, which is typically the IRCC secure messaging system or the web form, depending on the stage of processing.

Your notification should include:

• A letter clearly stating that a new dependent child has been born since the application was submitted
• The child’s full name, date of birth, and place of birth
• A request to add the child to the existing application
• A copy of the birth certificate as soon as it is available

Keep a record of every communication you send to IRCC, including the date sent and any reference numbers. If you submitted online through the IRCC portal, updates and notifications are generally submitted through the same portal.

Once IRCC has been notified and has acknowledged the addition of the new dependent, the child will need to provide the standard documentation for a dependent child. For a newborn, this includes:

• Birth certificate with the child’s full name and both parents listed
• Passport or travel document for the child
• Immigration medical exam results from an IRCC-approved panel physician
• Biometrics, once the child reaches five years of age (not required for newborns)

The medical exam for an infant is adapted to the child’s age. Newborns and very young children have different exam requirements than older children and adults. Finding an IRCC-approved panel physician in your area who has experience with young children is advisable.

If the baby was born in Canada, the situation is different in an important way: a child born in Canada is a Canadian citizen by birth, regardless of the immigration status of the parents. A Canadian citizen does not need to be sponsored for immigration purposes.

However, a Canadian-born child who will be accompanying the sponsored person when they eventually arrive or return to Canada does need a Canadian passport or proof of Canadian citizenship. The process for obtaining a Canadian passport for a newborn born in Canada begins with a registration of birth with the provincial vital statistics authority, followed by an application for a Canadian passport.

A Canadian-born child does not need to be included in the immigration application as a dependent. Their Canadian citizenship is established by birth.

Adding a dependent after submission can extend processing time. The extent of the delay depends on where the application is in the processing queue and how quickly the child’s required documents, particularly the medical exam, can be completed and submitted.

If the application is already at an advanced stage of processing, IRCC will typically wait for the child’s documentation to be complete before issuing a final decision. This is one of the reasons prompt notification is important: the sooner IRCC knows about the new dependent, the sooner the child’s documentation can be gathered and submitted, and the less the overall delay is likely to be.

If the application is refused before the baby’s addition can be processed, the child would not have been granted permanent residence as part of this application. Whether and how the child could be included in a future application would depend on the outcome of any appeal or reapplication process. This is another reason to act immediately when a child is born: delays in reporting can result in the child not being properly captured in the processing timeline.