This enactment amends the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide that a foreign national who is the subject of a family sponsorship application may remain in Canada as a temporary resident until a final determination in respect of the application is made. It also provides that they may not be refused entry to Canada as a temporary resident solely on the grounds that they have not established that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay, unless there is evidence of a history of non-compliance with requirements to leave Canada or any other country.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Sponsorship application

(1.‍1) In the case of a foreign national who is the spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has made an application to sponsor the foreign national in accordance with this Act, the period referred to in paragraph 20(1)‍(b) does not end,

• (a) if the sponsorship application is refused, before the day on which a final determination in respect of the application is made, provided the foreign national complies with any other requirements applicable to them under this Act; or

• (b) if the sponsorship application is accepted, before the day on which the foreign national becomes a permanent resident, provided the foreign national complies with any other requirements applicable to them under this Act.

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Refusal

(1.‍2) An officer may not refuse to allow a foreign national described in subsection (1.‍1) to enter or remain in Canada as a temporary resident solely on the grounds that the foreign national has not established that they will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay unless there is evidence of a history of non-compliance — without reasonable excuse — by the foreign national with the requirement to leave Canada or any other country by the end of the period authorized for any previous stay.