The Quebec province of Canada has recently imposed a cap on the number of family sponsorship visa applications, a move that could affect many potential immigrants, including Nigerians.

According to CIC News, Quebec has set a limit of 13,000 applications across several categories of family sponsorship visas.

This cap will be in effect from June 26, 2024, until June 25, 2026.

The cap delineates that 10,400 slots of the 13,000 applications are designated for spouses, common-law spouses, and dependent children aged 18 years and above.
The remaining 2,600 slots are allocated for parents, grandparents, and other eligible family members.
Once this limit is reached, Quebec authorities will no longer accept applications, and any applications submitted after the cap is filled will be returned without processing or charging the procedural fee.

The family sponsorship visa allows immigrants including Nigerian immigrants that have become permanent residents or Canadian citizens to sponsor their family members to come and live in Canada.

This visa aims to reunite families and provide them with the opportunity to build their lives together in Canada.

Under this program, sponsors must commit to financially supporting their family members for a period, ensuring they do not rely on social assistance.

While the new cap affects many applicants, certain categories are exempt. These include:

• A sponsor’s dependent underage child.
• Underage children the sponsor intends to adopt.
• An orphaned underage child of the sponsor’s sibling, nephew, niece, grandson, or granddaughter.
• A sponsor’s adult child who is dependent due to a disability.
• To qualify for these exemptions, the sponsored individual must not be married or in a common-law relationship.

The cap on family sponsorship visas is a measure closely related to Quebec’s housing crisis, which has been exacerbated by the increasing number of temporary residents.