Early this month, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a temporary public policy exempting some foreign nationals in Canada from requiring an immigration medical exam.
Permanent resident applicants and certain temporary resident applicants must undergo a medical examination as per R30 (1) (a) (I).
Exemptions from medical examination requirement
- 30 (1) For the purposes of paragraph 16(2)(b) of the Act, the following foreign nationals are exempt from the requirement to submit to a medical examination:
- (a) foreign nationals other than
- (i) subject to paragraph (g), foreign nationals who are applying for a permanent resident visa or
applying to remain in Canada as a permanent resident, as well as their family members, whether
accompanying or not,
- (i) subject to paragraph (g), foreign nationals who are applying for a permanent resident visa or
- (a) foreign nationals other than
The requirement for medical examination serves several purposes:
- To protect the health of Canadians
- To protect the safety of Canadians
- To reduce and prevent excessive demand on Canada’s health and social services.
With this new public policy put in placed by IRCC, certain foreign nationals who are in Canada will be exempt from having to complete an additional immigration medical exam as part of their application for permanent residence or for a permanent resident visa.
The goal of IRCC is to help streamline the application processing for low-risk-in Canada applicants, while effectively managing health risks. This policy will also help provide better client service, support faster processing of applications, and ensure foreign nationals can more quickly receive permanent resident status.
WHO ARE ELIGIBLE UNDER THIS PUBLIC POLICY? This policy applies to IN-CANADA foreign nationals who:
- have submitted a new application for permanent residence or for a permanent resident visa or have a pending application for permanent residence and have not yet completed a new immigration medical exam
- have completed an immigration medical exam within the last 5 years and were found to pose no risk to public health or safety, or complied with a requirement to report to public health authorities for monitoring, and
- have not left Canada for more than 6 months in the last year to live in a country that has a higher incidence of a serious communicable disease than Canada, as outlined in the list of countries requiring an immigration medical exam
When applying for permanent residence or for a permanent resident visa, applicants or foreign nationals must provide an immigration medical exam or a unique medical identifier number from their previous medical exam. IRCC will contact individuals whose results cannot be used to discuss next steps.
Foreign national’s family members who are in Canada may benefit from this temporary public policy provided they meet the criteria listed above.
This temporary public policy is in effect until December 28, 2021.
If you have questions regarding the above article, you may contact Marjorie at [email protected]
Source: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), IRPR
A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not a legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) in good standing of ICCRC. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of RCIC’s.
