Bringing non-PR child into Canada

Thanks a lot @t.anand, @anon25417004 for sharing your stories. This was really helpful.

Hello everyone!

I am planning to move with my family as PRs to Toronto from Dallas this summer. Been reading the posts on this forum and love it.

We are also in a similar situation and expecting our second baby in April. We have delayed our move to summer because of the pregnancy. @t.anand can you share your immigration lawyers details. Does it help if you show savings rather than income as soon as you move to Canada to sponsor the baby’s PR. I was hoping to file it in the first couple of months after moving.

Thanks,
Ali

Hi Ali,
I consulted two attorneys - Joshua, whose details had shared in this forum and Aki & associates immigration law firm. Joshua does not directly do PR for child but he can connect you to another attorney who can do it.

Joshua Schachnow, J.D.
Immigration Lawyer
613-277-7795

In our case, we got our PR prior to our child being born and she’s a US citizen - so below applies to our specific scenario:
When we were filling up the application for our child, one of the forms is a financial information form which asks for ‘Notice of Assessment (NOA)’ which has details of your net income. The Canadian govt. provides an NOA only after you file tax returns. I was advised by Aki & associates to wait until I get an NOA (I will get one this year as I will file tax returns for last year) before applying for my child’s PR. Without an NOA, it may be considered an incomplete form and returned. You could take a chance and apply but we decided to wait, so it doesn’t fall under officer discretion and get rejected. And savings do not count - income is what is considered. Again, I am not a lawyer, so you can consult one.

Btw, do you already have your PR? If not, then I would recommend applying for your child’s PR along with yours after he/she is born. If you already have yours, you can take a chance and apply here with the attorney’s help (charge will be around CAD2500) or wait and extend your child’s visitor stay and then apply for PR after you get your NOA.

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Thanks @t.anand… We are already PRs and our scenario is very similar to yours. Is getting a newborn on US passport and extending visitor visa straight forward.

Also, how are you handling your child’s insurance while you wait for the PR process to be completed.

Thanks a ton for your help!

Hi Ali,
A newborn on US passport can come in on a visitor visa for 6 months. You will apply for an extension close to the 6-month expiry date for an additional 6-months. We have not done it yet (as it is 4 months since we are here) but I hear its straightforward and is explained in IRCC website - will be in a better position to comment after 2 months. Worst case, if you don’t get an extension (I hear this is highly unlikely as Canada is very family-oriented), you can cross to US and drive back the same day for additional 6 months’ stay. For insurance, we have taken visitor’s insurance. We had to take our child to a doctor once - you have to claim later as they will not accept visitor’s insurance. However, the doctor took a minimal amount.

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Thanks for the detailed response.

Hi, We are in a similar situation currently. I and my wife did soft landing in July 2018 and have PR cards. We are Indian citizens, currently working in USA (me on H1B, she on H4) and are expecting our first child in August 2020. We were planning to move to Canada in April 2020, however due to the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic impact thought it would be better to delay our move until December 2020. If we delay our move, it means our baby would be born in USA and will get US citizenship and will not be a Canadian PR. I understand the health insurance implications for the child that isn’t a PR but am concerned if the child can get an extension to stay in Canada beyond the initial 6 months on a visitor visa. @t.anand , I would appreciate if you can shed some light on your experience regarding extending the stay for your child. Thanks.

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Hi @katz, you can bring non-PR child from US to Canada on visitor visa. Our kid got a visitor visa extension after 6 months for an additional 6 months with no questions asked. Online extension application is very simple.

If you file for a PR later for your child, you will need to have filed taxes at least once before you can apply for PR. So it is advisable to move before end of 2020 so you can file for returns in 2021 and then apply for PR (else you would have to wait one more year). You will get a Notice of Assessment from CRA on filing tax returns which is a required document to apply for PR. You will need to get private insurance or insurance through your company for your child until then.

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This is really good information !

Thanks

That’s good to know. Thanks so much for the information.

@t.anand: very similar situation but little more complicated. Due to points, I applied PR just for me and got it. So, once I am in Canada, I have to apply PR for my wife, elder son (both Indian citizens) and my younger son (US citizen). Do you suggest I have to wait for at least one tax filing before I can start their PR application process?
I have heard another thing called visitor permit. Is this something that you can apply while you are in Canada?
I have heard it takes 12 months or so to get the PR for you dependents from inside. Visitor visa might not be enough.

Please give me some pointers!

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@nik first of all, love your dp (Calvin :slight_smile:) yes, it does become a bit challenging when you have to apply for PR for spouses - it takes 12+ months for spouses (and could be longer now due to covid). For our kid, it only took 3 months to get PR. And it was highly recommended by the lawyer who I spoke to here that we sponsor for family once we file the taxes and also preferably be here for 12 months to show that we have established residency. I am not a lawyer, so advise you to consult as yours is a bit complicated or see if there is a way to apply for your spouse from outside Canada and get it for her before moving. Not familiar with visitor permit though (unless you are referring to visitor visa)

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@t.anand , first i would like to thank you for answering a lot of questions in this thread. Now coming to my question here is the scenrio . We are a family of 3 Myself , Wife and Daughter currently working in USA . We all have our PR and my daughter is a US citizen. We did our Landing in July 2019 and were planning to move to Canada this year but had to postpone due to the current situation with COVID.
We are expecting our second baby in March 2021 and We have made up our mind to move permanently to Canada but given the current situation we are unsure if we will be able to move before or after the baby is born

wanted to get opionions on this thread about the pros and cons of child being born in USA vs Canada.

  1. If the child is a US citizen while waiting for the candian PR, i would like to understand the implications of not having government health care for our new born. How is the Private Insurance / Visitor Insurance coverage , what are typical monthly costs for good coverage . Any providers that you recommend.

  2. I read that we need a Notice of Assessment for which we need to file a Tax return before applying for the childs PR. So, do we have to physically be in Canada to file our tax return ? We returned to USA after our Landing and haven’t resided in Canada beyond that. Can you recommend a good CPA who i can consult for this.

  3. My 3rd question is not related to this topic but if anyone can answer or point me to a appropriate discussion. I have my PR card with me but my wife and daughter PR cards are still in canada with my brother.
    When entering canada can we show the COPR for entry into canada?.
    Is it safe to have the PR cards mailed from Canada to US, I read online that some people had issues with customs when PR cards were sent by mail but there are many who also receieved it by mail. so i am just a little confused as to what would be the best way out.

Your questions have been answered on the forum already. Look at this for more info. Also the question about PR cards has been asked like a million times. Short answer is yes, no problems in shipping.

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Thanks @panditji

@panditji
Hi, I moved to Canada March 2021 on PR and would like to apply PR for my one year old son who is a US citizen.
I have not applied for income tax and do not have income statement or NOA, but based on the answers, can I move forward without them?

Also, regarding biometrics, do I need to do biometrics for him? He is in Canada with us.

Hello @vilas, yes you can apply without tax return information.

There’s no biometrics collection for children.

Hello all,
I am moving to Canada (Toronto) around Dec 2021 and have a similar question like most on this thread. Me and my wife are on PR and our kid is a US Citizen.
Question is, do I need to apply for a visitor visa for my son? Or just showing his US passport and Birth Certificate should suffice at the immigration check?
If I do need to apply for a visitor’s visa, how long does it take and is there an online process?

Thanks and Regards.

Hi there!
Most of the questions are answered in detail in the thread and also refer this one below:

  1. No, for the first 6 months you don’t need the visa (US citizens can visit Canada for short term), they just look at the baby’s US passport and give you a 6 month stamp and as if you are planning to apply for his PR etc. You can apply for visitor visa after that online.
    Although if you apply for child’s PR you don’t need to do that( Refer the thread copied for details)

Hope that helps!

Thanks
Apeksha

Thank you for sharing this information Apeksha.