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INFERTILITY   ADOPTION   POST-ADOPTION   FAMILY TREE   Adoption Resource Central    Heart of Adoption Articles to inspire   International adoption guide   You can order Family Helper publications		Where to get immigration forms, permanent resident card BY ROBIN HILBORN, Family Helper editor
		(Oct. 4, 2004) To adopt a child from another country you must apply to sponsor the child for permanent residence in Canada. To do that, you need to get an application form to "sponsor a member of the family class". (You should be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, 18 or over, and resident in Canada.) Once your child is a permanent resident, you may apply for citizenship on her behalf. (Adoptive parents are exempt from the usual three-year residency requirement.) Here is where to get immigration information and forms. International Adoption and the Immigration Process, www.cic.gc.ca/english/sponsor/adopt-4.html. Information page by Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class, www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/family.html. Application to be mailed to CPC, Mississauga. By phone: Ask for the "application to sponsor a member of the family class (international adoption)".     Montreal 514-496-1010; Hamilton 905-572-2787     Toronto 416-973-4444; Vancouver 604-666-2171     Elsewhere: toll-free 1-888-242-2100 Case Processing Centre (CPC), Mississauga, Ont., 888-242-2100. CPC is where you send the Application to Sponsor; fee $100. CPC also sends you an Application for Permanent Residence (the visa application), which you send to the visa office abroad. Canadian Visa Offices, www.cic.gc.ca/english/offices/apply-where.html Adoption Medical Clinics in Canada and the U.S., www.familyhelper.net/ad/adclin.html. In case you need a doctor for a pre- or post-adoption assessent. Permanent residents without PR card will be temporarily stranded -- As of Dec. 31, 2003, all permanent residents of Canada, including children, had to produce a Permanent Resident card when re-entering the country by commercial carrier (airplane, train, boat, bus). This doesn't apply to travel by private car. The PR card proves you are a permanent resident, which is defined as someone who has been allowed to enter Canada as an immigrant, but who hasn't become a Canadian citizen. If you (or your child) are a permanent residents returning to Canada but without the new PR card, you won't get in right away -- you'll have to contact the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate to get a limited-use travel document to re-enter Canada. The card is for those who are Permanent Residents, but not citizens. If you go abroad you need one, to prove your permanent resident status in Canada. It's a requirement of IRPA, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. You can get the card from Citizenship and Immigration Canada: see Application for a Permanent Resident Card, www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/prcard.html or call 1-800-255-4541. Applications for the card take about 12 weeks to process. (Children adopted abroad get a PR card upon entering Canada as a permanent resident.) ________________________________________ You may reproduce this item with the credit: "Source: Family Helper (www.familyhelper.net)"