Canada to Relax Rules That Block Immigrants with Disabilities

Key Highlights:

• Overview
• Proposed Changes
• Excessive Demand

The Canadian government is now planning to relax the current law rules, which prevent candidates with illnesses and disabilities from immigrating to the country. 

Proposed Changes

In an official gazette, the federal government recently announced its plan to make permanent changes to the medical inadmissibility rules.

The Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) could deny immigration to candidates whose personal care could cost the government over $7,000 per year, as they could create excessive demand for health or social services.

In 2017, a parliamentary committee had recommended that Canada revoke this rule as it was not in line with its values of inclusion and demeaned people with disabilities.

Excessive Demand 

Canadian laws currently define excessive demand as either/both of the following:

• A person whose illness or disability costs the health or public services more than the average cost
• A person whose treatment for the medical condition increases the waiting time for Canadian citizens

This has, consequently, caused the most heartache to numerous immigrant hopefuls.

The definition is broad and applies to both physical and mental conditions that can place excessive demand. Therefore, both psychological and physical disabilities make a person inadmissible.

Even if the cost of treatment is slightly more than the average Canadian citizen’s cost, the candidate will be inadmissible.

In several cases, this inadmissibility can apply to family members without any medical condition.

For example, if an immigration applicant’s dependent child is found inadmissible, the primary applicant is also denied entry.