NPZ Immigration Law Blog

The Government of Canada recently introduced Canada Emergency Response Benefit (“CERB”), a taxable benefit for eligible workers who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19. This temporary income support will be available for up to sixteen weeks.

The IRCC updated its guidelines that CERB will not be considered social assistance for a Permanent Resident application. This indicates that an individual receiving CERB can still be a sponsor to permanent resident applications for a spouse, parent or a grandparent. A sponsored Permanent Resident can also take advantage of these benefits during the undertaking period. But if the sponsored Permanent Resident takes benefit of social assistance, the sponsor will be in default and will have to repay the amount. Social assistance is defined as any benefit, whether money, goods or services, provided to or on behalf of a person by a Province under a program of social assistance.

At NPZ, our U.S. and Canadian Immigration Law Specialists seek to assist clients with regard to employment and family immigration issues. If you or your friends or family should have any questions, please feel free to contact us at info@visaserve.com or you can call our offices at 201-670-0006 (x100). We look forward to being able to assist you.