Pathway to permanent residence: In-Canada families of Canadian victims of recent air disasters – Eligibility requirements for the public policy

Applicants applying under the public policy must meet certain eligibility requirements.

IRCC is required to follow the rules of procedural fairness throughout the decision-making process.

On this page

• Eligibility requirements for the public policy
  • Relationship to a victim of one of the air disasters
  • Status in Canada
  • Not inadmissible
  • If the applicant is a refugee claimant
  • Withdrawing the refugee claim
• Inclusion of family members in the application

Eligibility requirements for the public policy

To be eligible under the public policy, the principal applicant must establish that they are related to a victim of the PS752 or ET302 air disaster and that their familial relationship falls under one of the relationships listed in the public policy. In addition, the applicant

• must be in Canada
• must meet requirements related to when and how they came to Canada
• must not be inadmissible for reasons other than those exempted under the public policy

Consult the detailed list of criteria below.

Relationship to a victim of one of the air disasters

To qualify for this public policy, the principal applicant must be related to a victim of the ET302 or PS752 air disaster who was a

• Canadian citizen
• permanent resident
• foreign national who had a positive eligibility decision (stage 1) on their permanent residence application

The principal applicant must have been the victim’s

• spouse or common-law partner
• child
• mother or father
• grandmother or grandfather
• grandchild
• brother or sister (including half siblings)
• aunt or uncle (their mother or father’s sibling)
• nephew or niece (the child of their sibling)

The principal applicant may also be one of the following family members of the spouse or common-law partner of the victim:

• child
• mother or father
• grandmother or grandfather
• grandchild
• brother or sister (including half siblings)
• aunt or uncle (their mother or father’s sibling)
• nephew or niece (the child of their sibling)

Documentary evidence

Applicants have been instructed to provide evidence that their relative was a victim of one of the air disasters.

The applicant also has to establish that they are related to a victim through one of the familial relationships referred to in the public policy. Considering that there are some family relationships that might be more complex to establish because they are more removed (see child versus nephew for example), the applicant may need to provide multiple documents to prove their relation to the victim.

For example, if the applicant was the victim’s aunt, they will need to provide evidence that the victim was their sibling’s child, and that the sibling’s parent is also the applicant’s parent.

The documentary evidence necessary to establish the familial relationship between the applicant and the victim can vary from one application to the other. Considering that some of the documents may have been with the victim at the time of the air disaster and are no longer available, or that the applicant may be unable to obtain certain evidence, officers are encouraged to apply flexibility to the evidence required. In cases where applicants are unable to obtain official records as evidence of the familial relationship, officers may consider alternate evidence provided by applicants, including affidavits or oral testimony through an interview. Officers may also hold an interview if the credibility of the applicant is a concern. Ultimately, the officer must be satisfied that the criterion has been met before continuing to process the application.

Status in Canada

To qualify under this public policy, the applicant must be in one of the following situations:

• They were in Canada with a valid temporary resident status at the time the victim they are related to passed away on flight ET302 or PS752.
• They were granted temporary resident status or they were issued a temporary resident permit after the crash of flight ET302 or PS752, if they applied for the temporary resident status before March 23, 2021.
• They made a refugee claim in Canada on or after the date that the victim they are related to passed away on flight ET302 or PS752.
• They benefitted from the 2020 or 2021 temporary residence public policies for families of victims of flight PS752.

In addition, the applicant must be in Canada when they apply and when they are granted permanent residence.

Not inadmissible

To qualify for this public policy, the applicant and their family members must not be inadmissible other than for

• having entered Canada without the required visa or other document required under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)
• having failed to comply with conditions of their temporary stay related to overstaying a visa, visitor record, work permit, student permit or temporary resident permit
• having worked or studied without being authorized to do so under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)

If the applicant is a refugee claimant

If a refugee claim was made, it must not have

• been determined to be ineligible to be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB)
• been determined to be withdrawn (unless withdrawn immediately prior to being granted permanent residence through this public policy)
• been determined to be abandoned
• been determined to be manifestly unfounded (MUC) or with no credible basis (NCB)
• been determined to be excluded under Article 1F of the Refugee Convention
• resulted in a determination that refugee protection ceased or was vacated

Withdrawing the refugee claim

As a final condition, applicants who have a claim for refugee protection or a pending refugee appeal are required to withdraw their refugee claim or refugee appeal to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) before being granted permanent resident status. Should the individual decide not to withdraw as mentioned above, those processes will proceed and their application for permanent residence under the public policy will be refused.

Inclusion of family members in the application

The applicant may include their family member(s) (as defined in subsection R1(3)) residing in Canada in their application for permanent residence for concurrent processing. Their spouse or common-law partner and dependent children must be admissible (unless exempted as part of the public policy) and meet all other requirements of the IRPA.

Family members residing outside Canada cannot be included for concurrent processing. However, they must be declared and examined for admissibility purposes.