How does having a Canadian-born child affect an H&C application by non-status parents?

Having a Canadian-born child is often one of the more significant factors in an H&C application by non-status parents, because it directly triggers the requirement that the child's best interests be identified and given substantial weight in the decision. A Canadian-born child's own citizenship, ties, and future in Canada are squarely part of what has to be genuinely considered, not merely noted in passing.

It's important to understand what this factor does and does not do. It does not automatically entitle the parents to remain in Canada, and it does not mean a Canadian-born child cannot, in a legal sense, leave Canada with their parents if the parents are ultimately required to leave — the analysis is about weighing what's genuinely in that child's best interests among several factors, not treating the child's citizenship as an automatic trump card.

Because the strength of this factor depends heavily on specific, well-documented evidence about the child's actual circumstances, ties, schooling, health, and what disruption would realistically mean for them, non-status parents in this situation should build detailed, child-specific evidence into the application with legal advice, rather than relying on the fact of the child's citizenship alone to carry the case.