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STRATFORD · GOLD CARD FIELD GUIDE

Can a Stratford applicant include a 23-year-old daughter in a Gold Card application?

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THE DIRECT ANSWER

No. The published family terms extend to a spouse and to unmarried children under 21, each of whom adds a further processing fee and a further US$1 million gift. An adult child outside that definition is not a joining family member and would need a route of her own.

Age and marital status decide inclusion, and money does not

Households frequently plan around the assumption that paying more brings more people, and that is not how the family terms are written. The definition is the ordinary immigration one: a spouse, and unmarried children who are under 21. A daughter of 23 falls outside it regardless of whether she lives at home, works in the family business or is financially dependent.

So does a married child of any age. So does a parent or a sibling. For Marielle that means two separate conversations rather than one: her own application under the published framework, and an assessment of what her daughter qualifies for personally, which will usually be a study or employment route on her own facts.

A child who is currently 20 raises a different question again, because the birthday may arrive during processing, and nobody should assume a timetable that has not been published.