Who is the principal applicant in Canadian immigration?

Hanna, a Hungarian citizen, is applying for immigration to Canada. She has a common-law partner and two children. Immigration forms seem confusing, though. For example, Hanna doesn’t understand who she must enter as the principal applicant. Therefore, she visits settler.ca for guidance.

Principal applicants in citizenship applications

A typical citizenship application does not have a principal applicant (PA). IRCC assesses every applicant independently against the citizenship requirements. However, permanent resident minors could become citizens only if one of the following applies to them:

• One of their parents is a Canadian citizen, or
• one of the parents is applying for citizenship simultaneously.

If the latter applies, we could consider the parents as principal applicants because the child’s citizenship depends on them. However, we do not necessarily use this terminology for citizenship applications.

The definition of the principal applicant in Canadian immigration

Only one could be the principal applicant when a family applies for permanent residence. Consider the following when choosing the PA:

• Only the person who meets the immigration requirements could be the PA.
• In a family, children may not be the principal applicants. However, if they are applying independently, then they can. For example, if you are sponsoring your adopted children, one of them becomes the principal applicant.
• If two family members meet the minimum requirements, choose the one as the PA who
  • receives more points in a point-based system (such as Express Entry),
  • can present all the necessary documents, or
  • faces fewer complexities in terms of their life history.

In PR applications, the inadmissibility of a family member could make the rest of them inadmissible. Even non-accompanying family members could make the immigrating ones inadmissible. Therefore, switching PA could not resolve inadmissibility issues. The last point I made in the previous list is just for the fact that the PA is more under scrutiny. The wise choice of PA could enhance the processing time.

Principal applicants in temporary resident applications

Temporary resident (TR) applications could include any of the following:

• Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) for tourism, business visits, etc.
• Work permit or study permit
• Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)

In these applications, we could have groups of applicants (e.g., a family or a group of artists). While we do not have a principal applicant per se, there are situations where the role of a group member becomes significant. Consequently, we could consider that person as the PA. Here is an example:

• One of the parents is applying for a work permit under IMP C11
• The other parent is applying for a work permit under IMP C41
• Children are applying for open study permits

In this scenario, the IMP C11 applicant plays the role of the principal applicant, as the permits for other family members depend on the outcome of this application. I emphasize calling this person the PA is a bit of a stretch but makes sense. Furthermore, the inadmissibility of one family member does not affect the other persons for the most part. I have another article that discusses this issue in more detail.

If IRCC refuses your TR application, you must report it in subsequent applications. Let’s say the applications in the previous example face refusal. In subsequent applications, the child must mention they have a refused study permit application. They cannot simply say that I was accompanying my parent, who received a refusal. Don’t forget that each family member has their own file number in TR applications.

Refugee claimants and people who seek protection

When filing a refugee or protection application, the authorities consider each application separately. Nonetheless, it is common for RPD to group claimants and consider one of them as the main one. While the term principal applicant is not customary, you could feel the main weight is on that person’s claim. However, I’ve had cases where the “non-PA” claimant played the leading role in approving the claim.

After receiving the protection and applying for PR, we will have a principal applicant. If all the applicants are inside Canada, then one of them becomes the PA. However, if some family members are outside Canada, one applicant inside Canada and one outside Canada will be principal applicants. Nonetheless, the approval of all outside-Canada applicants depends on the protected family members in Canada and their own admissibility.

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