On June 8, 2020, the federal government announced that effective immediately, foreign nationals who are immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and who do not have COVID-19 or exhibit any symptoms or signs of COVID-19, or have any reason to believe they have COVID-19, will be exempt from the prohibition on entry to Canada if entering to be with an immediate family member for a period of at least 15 days. People admitted into Canada pursuant to this exemption must quarantine for 14 days.
In Canadian immigration law, an immediate family member refers to a person’s:
- Spouse or common-law partner (someone they have lived with in a romantic relationship for at least one year)
- Dependent child, as defined in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (see below), or a dependent child of the person’s spouse or common-law partner
- Dependent child, as defined in section 2 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (see below), of a dependent child referred to in paragraph (2)
- Parent or step-parent or the parent or step-parent of the person’s spouse or common-law partner
- Guardian or tutor
In Canadian immigration law, a dependent child:
- is a biological child of the parent (unless the child has been adopted by a person other than the spouse or common-law partner of the parent), or is an adopted child of the parent; and
- is less than 22 years old and not married or not in a common-law relationship; or
- is 22 years old or older and has been dependent on the financial support of their parent since before they turned 22 and is unable to support themselves financially due to a physical or mental disability.
People living with HIV can call HALCO for legal advice on this or other issues. People not living with HIV can call their local community legal clinic.