Adding Dependants to Canada PR Application

When applying for permanent residence in Canada, you must declare your family members, whether or not they will accompany you. This includes your spouse or common-law partner and your dependent children. Adding dependants to Canada PR requires no separate application. Family members travelling with you are granted permanent residence together with the principal applicant.

Key Takeaways: Adding Dependants to Canada PR Application

• Who qualifies: Your spouse or common-law partner, and unmarried children under 22, including your spouse’s children and your children’s own dependent children.
  
  
• Age lock-in: A child’s age is fixed on the date IRCC receives your complete application. For provincial nominations it is fixed earlier, when the province receives your nomination application.
  
  
• CRS effect: An accompanying spouse reduces your own core factors from 500 points to 460, with up to 40 available from their credentials. Dependent children have no effect on your score.
  
  
• Declaration: Every family member must be declared, whether accompanying you or not. Anyone omitted can be permanently barred from being sponsored by you.
  
  
• Medical exams: Since 21 August 2025, results for the whole family must be submitted with your application, not after it.
  
  
• Government fees: Around CAD 3,890 for two adults and two children, covering processing, the Right of Permanent Residence Fee and biometrics.
  
  

Who Qualifies When Adding Dependants to Canada PR?

IRCC counts four categories of family member: your spouse or common-law partner, your dependent children, your spouse’s dependent children, and your dependent children’s own dependent children.

Spouse or common-law partner

A spouse is a person you are legally married to. For applicants in Pakistan this means a valid nikah, supported by a NADRA marriage registration certificate.

A common-law partner is a person you have lived with in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months. Pakistani law does not recognise this status, but IRCC does, so the relationship must be proven through evidence rather than registration. IRCC accepts a shared lease, joint bank accounts or shared bills covering the full 12 months.

Dependent children

A child qualifies if, on the lock-in date, they are under 22 and have no spouse or common-law partner. Biological children, adopted children and stepchildren qualify on the same terms, as do children from a previous relationship regardless of custody.

The date is applied strictly. A child who has turned 22 before the lock-in date cannot be included. They must also remain unmarried throughout processing, as a marriage during the application period ends their eligibility.

Children aged 22 or older

A child aged 22 or older may qualify only where they have depended on you financially since before turning 22 and cannot support themselves because of a physical or mental condition. You must provide evidence of both the financial dependency and the medical condition.

Full-time study, by itself, does not meet the definition. A child at university whom you support entirely does not qualify on that basis alone.

The Age Lock-In Date

IRCC fixes your child’s age on the date it receives your complete permanent residence application. A child who is 21 on that date remains eligible even if they turn 23 during processing. A child who has turned 22 cannot be included.

The date differs by programme. For provincial nominations the age is fixed earlier, when the province receives your nomination application, so a family working towards the federal deadline can miss an earlier one they did not know existed.

The lock only applies to a complete application, meaning all required forms, supporting documents and fees. A package returned for a missing document does not preserve the original date. Where a child is approaching 22, the submission date has to be planned backwards from their birthday.

Note that the freeze covers age alone. The child must still be unmarried when the application is received and remain so throughout processing.

How Dependants Affect Your CRS Score

Dependent children do not affect your CRS score. IRCC awards no points for them and deducts none, whether they accompany you or not.

An accompanying spouse changes the scoring structure. Your own core factors are capped at 460 rather than 500, with up to 40 points available from your spouse’s education, official language proficiency and Canadian work experience.

The without-spouse structure applies in two cases: a spouse who genuinely will not accompany you, and a spouse who is already a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. In both, all family members must still be declared. Declaring a spouse as non-accompanying to raise your score, intending to bring them later, is misrepresentation and can result in refusal, inadmissibility and a five-year bar.

Where both partners have strong profiles, each can submit a separate Express Entry profile with the other listed as a dependant, which gives you two chances at an invitation. Our CRS score breakdown explains how each factor is calculated.

If your child turns 22 next year, your submission date is now a deadline.

Age freezes on the day IRCC receives a complete file, and a package returned for one missing document loses that date entirely. AIRCS Group works backwards from your child’s birthday and tells you the latest safe date to submit.

Check your family’s eligibility on WhatsApp →

You Must Declare Every Family Member

Declaring a family member and bringing them with you are separate things. Declaration is required either way.

IRCC counts four categories:

• Your spouse or common-law partner
• Your dependent children
• Your spouse or partner’s dependent children
• Your dependent children’s own dependent children

Every declared family member must also complete an immigration medical exam, accompanying or not, unless an exemption applies. Since 21 August 2025, Express Entry applications require those results to be submitted with the application, so a family of four needs four appointments completed before filing.

Declared dependants also count toward your family size for proof of funds. Our guide on Canada PR application mistakes covers the other errors that lead to refusals.

Documents You Need from Pakistan

IRCC issues a personalised document checklist after your invitation, and that checklist governs your application. The list below covers what Pakistani families are normally asked for.

• Spouse or common-law partner: passport, CNIC, nikah nama with NADRA marriage registration certificate, or evidence of the common-law relationship, and photographs.
  
  
• Each dependent child: passport, birth certificate or NADRA B-Form, CBC and photographs.
  
  
• Family relationship: a NADRA Family Registration Certificate listing all members as supporting evidence.
  
  
• A child claimed under the over-22 exception: medical evidence of the condition and proof of continuing financial dependency since before they turned 22.
  
  
• Medical examination: every family member, including those not accompanying you, with an IRCC panel physician.
  
  
• Police certificates: every family member aged 18 or over needs one for each country where they stayed six months in a row or longer during the past ten years. 

Documents that are not in English must generally be submitted with a translation from a certified translator, along with the original document or a certified copy as required.

Cost of Adding Your Family

IRCC increased the processing fee and the Right of Permanent Residence Fee on 30 April 2026.

Biometrics cost CAD 85 per person, capped at CAD 170 where two or more family members apply together. At these rates, two adults and two children pay roughly CAD 3,890 in total, against CAD 1,675 for a single applicant.

The RPRF is refundable if IRCC does not approve the application, subject to IRCC’s applicable refund rules. Processing fees are not refundable.

Proof of funds is separate from these fees and is not required for every Express Entry applicant. Where it does apply, IRCC calculates the amount by family size and includes your spouse and dependent children even if they are not accompanying you. Confirm the current figures on the IRCC document checklist before you apply.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add my spouse after submitting my application?

Yes, if you marry after submitting your application. You must inform IRCC and provide the required documents. The same applies to a child born after submission. A spouse you were already married to and did not declare cannot be added later.

What happens if my child turns 22 during processing?

Turning 22 during processing does not affect their eligibility, as long as they were under 22 on the lock-in date. However, they must continue to meet the other requirements, including remaining unmarried.

What if I fail to declare a family member?

That person can be barred from being sponsored by you later, and a misrepresentation finding brings five years of inadmissibility. Declaration is required whether or not they travel with you.

Do my children affect my CRS score?

No. Dependent children neither add nor deduct points. Your CRS score is affected by an accompanying spouse, if applicable.

Do my children pay the Right of Permanent Residence Fee?

No. Dependent children are exempt from the Right of Permanent Residence Fee (RPRF). However, each child is subject to the applicable CAD 270 processing fee, while the family’s biometrics fee is capped at CAD 170.

Planning to Apply for Canada PR With Your Family?

Make sure your dependants meet the eligibility requirements and that your family details, documents and CRS calculation are correct before you submit your application.

Need help with your application?
Book a consultation with AIRCS Group