As of October 24, 2017, the maximum age of dependent children who may be included in an application for immigration to Canada will rise to include children under the age of 22, who are not themselves married or in a common-law relationship. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) confirmed the change in its official Gazette of May 3, 2017. Currently, the definition of a dependent child covers children under the age of 19 — a regulation that the Canadian government has criticized for being ‘too restrictive’.