How to file an undertaking for a de facto dependant

A de facto dependant can be selected at the same time as the main person being sponsored.

A de facto dependant is a person who is not a member of the immediate family (spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, dependant child and the child's dependant child), but who is emotionally and/or economically dependant on the main person being sponsored and usually lives with them.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is responsible for determining who qualifies as a de facto dependant. To help you determine whether a person is a de facto dependant, visit the IRCC website .

1. Submitting an undertaking application – Step 1: on the Step 1 form, list only the main person being sponsored and members of their immediate family.
2. Submitting an undertaking application – Step 2 (after the draw, if any) : mention all assumed de facto dependants on the Step 2 form. At this stage, the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) reviews only the undertaking application relating to the main person being sponsored and their immediate family members.
3. Submitting the application for permanent residence to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC): submit an application for permanent residence for each deemed de facto dependant at the same time as for the persons included in the undertaking and who have been accepted by the  MIFI. Add the MIFI submission form listing the persons covered by the undertaking and the assumed de facto dependants.
4. Confirmation by IRCC of the arm's length relationship between the main person being sponsored and the de facto dependants.
5. Transmission of an separate undertaking application for each de facto dependant at the MIFI's request, outside the application period and beyond the maximum targets. You must prove that you can meet the basic needs of your de facto dependants.
6. Issuance of Québec Selection Certificates for the de facto dependant, at the same time as for the main person being sponsored and their immediate family, so that they can arrive together in Québec.

This procedure applies once all the following conditions have been met:

• A person is presumed to be a de facto dependant of the main person being sponsored;
• The undertaking application for the main person being sponsored has already been accepted by the MIFI;
• The main person being sponsored has not yet arrived in Québec;
• The de facto dependant is not mentioned in the undertaking application form – Step 2.

1. If the main person being sponsored considers that he or she is responsible for de facto dependants, you must inform the Ottawa Resettlement Operations Centre. The main person being sponsored may also inform the IRCC office abroad at the time of the interview.
2. If IRCC confirms the arm's length relationship between the main person being sponsored and the de facto dependants, IRCC will inform the MIFI.
3. The MIFI will contact you to arrange for you or another sponsor to submit a separate application for the de facto dependant.