Adopted Child/Children Visa

Canada allows its citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their adopted children to come to the country and live with them. If you're sponsoring an adopted child, he or she must be related to you as one of these:

• Child
• Grandchild
• Child adopted outside Canada or child who will be adopted inside Canada
• Brother, sister, nephew, niece or a grandchild who is orphaned and is under 18 years of age and is not married or in a common law relationship

Even if you don't bear any such relationship with them, you can still sponsor them, only if you don't have any of these relatives, living in Canada, you could sponsor as a member of family class:

• Spouse/conjugal partner/common-law partner
• Son/daughter
• Brother/sister
• Parent and grandparent
• Uncle or aunt
• Niece of nephew

In short, you shouldn't have any relative who is living in Canada or is a Canadian citizen or is a permanent resident of Canada or a registered Indian, in order to sponsor your adopted child to bring him/her to Canada.

How to Bring Your Adopted Child to Canada?

You must apply for necessary travel document, before you bring your child to Canada. You can also apply for permanent residence or Canadian citizenship for your adopted child right away. However, you must remember that:

• In order to directly apply for a Canadian citizenship, you must be a Canadian citizen born or naturalized in Canada.
• Permanent residence is an ideal option for those who want to allow their adopted child to decide on their own if he/she wants to become a Canadian citizen an adult. In this case of inter-country adoption, you:
  1. Must apply for sponsoring your adopted child.
  2. Must apply for the permanent residence for your child
  3. May apply for Canadian citizenship on behalf of your child, after he/she arrives in Canada as a permanent resident

Adopted Child/Children Entitlements

On arrival in Canada as a permanent resident, your adopted child will be entitled to:

• Work, study and live in Canada
• Apply for Canadian citizenship
• Apply for a Canadian passport, once he/she becomes a Canadian citizen
• Government-subsidized education programs
• Attend language programs
• Health benefits
• All government-subsidized benefits

Why Should You Seek Legal Help to Bring Your Adopted Child to Canada?

Bringing an adopted child to Canada is a complex process despite Canadian government encourages family reunification. You also need to contact the adoption authority in your province even before you apply to adopt a child from another country. This makes the entire process much more complex and time consuming. It, therefore, becomes essential to seek professional help to bring your adopted child to Canada in a hassle-free manner.