Family Sponsorship
Family Sponsorship
Family reunification is an essential pillar of the Canadian Immigration System. Canadian Citizens and Permanent Residents can sponsor their family members to become Permanent Residents
Spousal Sponsorship
In order to receive a visa through this immigration program, the sponsor and sponsored person must prove that their relationship qualifies under one of three categories
- Spouse
- Common-law Partner
- Conjugal Partner
The main requirement is to prove that relationship is genuine and not just merely entered to facilitate permanent residence in Canada. The application can be filed either as an overseas application or in-land application if the partner is already in Canada. However, Canada spousal sponsorship applicants are eligible for spousal open work permit while their application for permanent residence is being processed.
Dependent Child Sponsorship
Children qualify as dependents for Canadian family sponsorship if they are under 22 years old and they don’t have a spouse or common law partner. If the dependent child is 22 or older, they must prove that they suffer from a physical or mental disability and have been financially dependent on the support of the parents before the age of 22. You can sponsor:
- Your own child if he/she is not a Canadian citizen already
- An adopted child
- An orphaned family member
- Your spouse or common law partner’s own child
To sponsor a dependent child you must be at least 18 years of age, a Canadian Permanent Resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen.
Parent and Grandparents Sponsorship
The Parent and Grandparent Program of Canada permits citizens and permanent residents of Canada to sponsor their grandparents and parents for immigration to Canada. Grandparents and Parents who are successful in their application through PGP are offered Permanent Residency in Canada. They can later also apply for Citizenship in Canada.
To be eligible to sponsor:
- You must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
- You must be 18 years of age or older
- You must meet or exceed the minimum necessary income (MNI) requirement for Family Sponsorship
- You must sign an undertaking agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your sponsored parents or grandparents and repay any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members for 20 years.
The Parent and Grandparent Program makes use of the lottery or random selection system. So you will have to first complete the form for ‘Interest to Sponsor’ as a potential sponsor. IRCC then, as per its discretion, sends out invitations to the eligible applicants, who then get a 60-days time frame to complete the application.
Sponsoring other relatives
Canadian citizen or Permanent Residents may be able to sponsor certain relatives to immigrate to Canada under the Family Class if they do not have any spouse, child, parent or grandparent that they could sponsor. To sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, the sponsor must support the relative financially and make sure that the relative doesn’t need social assistance.
