Immigration junction

Family & Spousal Sponsorship

What is Canadian family sponsorship?

There are two main aspects to sponsorship:

1) It allows your family member to immigrate to Canada and get permanent residence (PR)

2) It requires you, as an individual, to make a commitment to provide for basic needs and to support that person financially.

Can you be a sponsor?

3. To sponsor a family member, you are required to meet several requirements such as being:

a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

18 years of age or older

able to support the sponsored person for several years

Who can you sponsor?

Spouses and common-law partners

Dependent children

Parents and grandparents

There are exceptions to this rule, however, and it may be possible to sponsor a non-immediate family member (for example, a sister, niece, or uncle) if:

you do not have any other immediate family members you could sponsor, or

You have legally adopted them, and they meet the definition of a dependent child

There are other requirements like:

Income requirements to sponsor

Sponsorship undertaking’

Sponsor your Wife, Husband, or Common-law Partner

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada you may sponsor:

Your spouse (you are legally married)

Common-law partner (you are not legally married but have been living together for at least 12 months in a conjugal relationship).

Conjugal partner (you are not legally married or in a common-law relationship and they are living outside Canada)

To be eligible for spousal or common-law partner sponsorship, you must:

be 18 year of age, a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or Canadian citizen,

demonstrate that you can provide for the basic needs for yourself and your spouse or partner,

Prove your relationship with the sponsored person is genuine by providing supporting documentation.

To be eligible for spousal or common-law partner sponsorship, the sponsored person must:

Be at least 18 years of age and not too closely related to you.

Sponsor your Dependent Children

You can sponsor your dependent children, whether natural or adopted, to live with you as permanent residents in Canada.

Children must meet the following definition of a dependent child to be eligible for sponsorship:

A child is considered a dependent if he or she is not married or in a common-law relationship and is under 22 years of age.

If a child is over 22 years of age, they may be considered a dependent if they have a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being able to support themselves.

To be eligible under this program, you:

and your child abroad must be approved by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to receive a visa,

must prove your relationship with the child you are sponsoring, either by a birth or adoption certificate.

Sponsor your Parents or Grandparents

The Parent and Grandparent Sponsorship Program (PGP) and the Super Visa Program are two programs that offer Canadian citizens and permanent residents the opportunity to bring their parents and grandparents to Canada.

To be eligible under the Parents and Grandparents Program, you must:

be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada,

be at least 18 years of age,

be the child or grandchild of the person(s) you are sponsoring,

meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) required for the size of their family

sign a sponsorship agreement that acknowledges your promise to provide for the basic needs of family member(s) for a period of 20 years