If you're being sponsored by a partner with Canadian PR and you have a dependent child from before the relationship, the child generally needs to be declared and included at the time you file your sponsorship application.
What group members advised:- Declare your dependent child at the time of filing. The application forms specifically ask whether you have any dependents, and one member confirmed from personal experience that dependents should be added at the time of filing, not afterward.
- Sponsoring the child separately after you land is possible in principle but adds complexity and time. One member's related case took around 4 years, though outcomes vary widely case by case depending on individual circumstances.
- A visitor visa route for the child is a separate option worth discussing with a licensed consultant if you don't want to formally include them as a dependent in the sponsorship application, but this doesn't give the child status the way being included as a dependent would.
Because including or excluding dependents affects both the sponsorship application and the child's future immigration options, it's worth getting this decision reviewed by a licensed immigration consultant (RCIC) before you file.