Family members of someone found to be in a refugee class abroad are in that class too. It spares them from being assessed as though each had their own refugee claim, and it is why a spouse and children move with the principal applicant.
140.1 An application for a permanent resident visa submitted by a foreign national under this Division shall indicate that the foreign national is outside Canada and is making a claim for refugee protection and shall (a)contain the name, address and country of birth of the applicant and of all their accompanying family members; (b)contain the name and country of birth of all the applicant’s non-accompanying family members; and (c)indicate whether the applicant or any of their accompanying or non-accompanying family members is the spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner of another person.
140.2 (1) If the foreign national making an application for a permanent resident visa under this Division is being sponsored, the application for a permanent resident visa shall (a)be accompanied by a sponsorship application referred to in paragraph 153(1)(b) by which the foreign national is being sponsored; or (b)be attached to the sponsorship application sent by the sponsor in accordance with subsection 153(1.2). (2) The foreign national who has chosen to have their application for a permanent resident visa accompanied by the sponsorship application shall send the application for a permanent resident visa and the sponsorship application to the Department’s Case Processing Centre in Canada for processing those applications.
140.3 (1) If the foreign national making an application for a permanent resident visa under this Division is not being sponsored, a foreign national making an application for a permanent resident visa under this Division shall submit their application with one of the following referrals, if the referral has not yet been submitted to the immigration office by its issuer: (a)a referral from a referral organization; (b)a referral resulting from an arrangement between the Minister and the government of a foreign state or any institution of such a government relating to resettlement; or (c)a referral resulting from an agreement relating to resettlement entered into by the Government of Canada and an international organization or the government of a foreign state. (2) A foreign national may submit the application without a referral if they reside in a geographic area as determined by the Minister in accordance with subsection (3). (3) The Minister may determine on the basis of the following factors that a geographic area is an area in which circumstances justify the submission of permanent resident visa applications without a referral: (a)advice from referral organizations with which the Minister has entered into a memorandum of understanding under section 143 that they are unable to make the number of referrals specified in their memorandum of understanding for the area; (b)the inability of referral organizations to refer persons in the area; (c)the resettlement needs in the area, after consultation with referral organizations that have substantial knowledge of the area; and (d)the relative importance of resettlement needs in the area, within the context of resettlement needs globally. (4) If the foreign national who is being referred under any of paragraphs (1)(a) to (c) or if the foreign national resides in a geographic area as determined by the Minister in accordance with subsection (3), the foreign national shall submit their application to the immigration office outside Canada that serves the foreign national’s place of residence.
140.4 An application for a permanent resident visa made under this Division, its related sponsorship application made under Division 2 of this Part and all documents submitted in support of the applications, except the information referred to in subparagraphs 12.3(b)(i) and (ii), shall be returned to the person who sent the applications as a result of the choice made under subsection 140.2(1) if (a)in the case of an application for a permanent resident visa, the requirements set out in paragraph 139(1)(b) are not met; or (b)in the case of a sponsorship application, the requirements set out in paragraph 153(1)(b) and subsections 153(1.2) and (2) are not met.