Canadian government has announced that with effect from 01 August 2014, the maximum age of the children travelling to Canada as dependents has been lessened from 21 years to 19 years.
According to new definition, a dependent child refer to the one who is a biological or an adopted child of the person applying for Canadian immigration aged 19 years or less and neither married nor in a common-law relationship.
However, the child, who is over 19 years and is dependent on the parents financially in view of physical or mental conditions, can yet be regarded as a dependent.
Nevertheless, this is not anymore the case for children depending on their parents financially for studies. In this case, the children have to file their application for residency individually.
This new rule will not be applicable to those applications submitted prior to 01 Aug 2014. Children above 19 years may choose to come to Canada as an international student as another option. These young adults may be qualified for applying under Canadian Experience Class (CEC) after graduating and gaining necessary work experience.
