FAMILY SPONSORSHIP CANADA
Family reunification is one of the core principles of Canadian immigration policy. It allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor certain family members to come to Canada as permanent residents.
You can sponsor some members of your family to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and are at least 18 years old. You are able to live, study, and work in Canada if you are granted permanent residence status. You must provide financial support for a relative whom you are sponsoring to immigrate to Canada as a permanent resident once they get there.
Who you can sponsor?
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Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner
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Dependent child (or a child you plan to adopt): must be 21 and younger
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Parents and Grandparents: father, mother, grandfather or grandmother
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Orphaned Relatives: brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who are orphaned, under the age of 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship
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Other relatives: *only Lonely Canadians are eligible to sponsor (have no other family living in Canada)
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Eligibility and application process differ from one another, this article will help you navigate through the main requirements and family members you can sponsor.
Parents Sponsorship
Canadian Parents Sponsorship Program
Canadian Parents Sponsorship Program is a fast, affordable way for parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada. With this program, not only can you sponsor your children and their families, but you can also sponsor other family members.
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To accomplish this, Sponsor must
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Provide financial support for parents and their dependents
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Verify that they don't need any government-provided social help.
Before submitting an online interest to sponsor form via the IRCC website, applicants must first satisfy a number of requirements. If candidates satisfy the criteria, they must first complete the interest to sponsor form. Currently, the IRCC is running the lottery system, in which selected qualified applicants are sent invitations to apply and given the chance to submit a full application with all the necessary forms and papers.
To apply to sponsor your parents and grandparents, you must follow these six steps:
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Assessment of the eligibility of the sponsor
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Send the sponsorship interest form
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Receive a request to submit a full application.
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Prepare the application package.
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Pay the required application government fees.
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Submit the application.
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Contact us for more information about the Family Sponsorship application process or for assistance in preparing an application.
Sponsor your spouse, partner or child
One of the fastest ways to bring your partner to Canada
Sponsoring a spouse or common-law partner is one of the fastest ways to bring your partner to Canada. While you must meet certain sponsorship requirements, it is the quickest path to permanent residency.
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Who is eligible to sponsor their spouse, partner or child?
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You’re at least 18 years old
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You’re a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
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You’re not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability
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You can provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor
Responsibility as a Sponsor
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You must sign an undertaking with the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (or the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion [MIDI] if you reside in Quebec) before you can sponsor people who fall under the family class.
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The commitment is a vow to give the family members you are sponsoring financial help and necessities. Food, clothing, utilities, personal needs, housing, fuel, household supplies, and healthcare that is not covered by public health, such as eye and dental treatment, are considered basic necessities.
The length of the undertaking depends on their age and their relationship with the sponsor.
Considering the advantages and disadvantages of various application methods, it can be difficult to decide whether to submit your application from within Canada or from outside. You must decide what suits you the best and how each application form will impact your present and future.
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Inland Sponsorship Application
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Your spouse is currently inside Canada and will able to remain in Canada while the application is in process and up until it is finalized. Travel is not recommended
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Processing times for inland applications are considerably longer than for overseas applications,
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Your spouse may be eligible for an open work permit.
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There is no right to appeal a negative decision.
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If your spouse leaves Canada during the processing of his or her application and is not permitted to return, the application may be abandoned.
Overseas Sponsorship Application
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Processing times vary depending on the visa office where the application is processed, but it is typically quicker to apply using the overseas application process than the in-Canada process.
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The applicant can apply through the overseas process whether they are inside or outside of Canada at the time the application is submitted.
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The sponsor has the opportunity to appeal a decision that is not in their favour.
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Eligibility for an Open Work Permit does not exist in this application type.
For further information with respect to your Canadian immigration,
we invite you to contact our experienced immigration representatives.
Children Sponsorship
Under Canada’s family reunification programs, many different schemes are run which allow Canadian citizens or permanent residents with children abroad to apply for sponsorship of their children, or other dependents, for Canadian permanent residence. Child sponsorship applies to any dependent children or a child one is planning to adopt.
Qualifying criteria for a sponsor
• At least 18 years of age
• A Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen
• Not in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offence
Requirements for a sponsored child
• Dependent child should be 21 years old or younger and not married or in a common-law relationship.
• If the dependent child is 22 or older, certain additional requirements to fulfil like below
o If the child suffers from a physical or mental disability and has been financially dependent on the support of the parents since before the age of 22
Requirements for the nature of the relationship
• The child is the biological child of the parent and has not been adopted by another person
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• The child is adopted by the parent
The sponsoring parents are also required to provide proof of the relationship with the child, be it through a birth or adoption certificate. Parents in the final stages of an adoption process may sponsor the adopted child before the adoption is complete. In addition to meeting the definition of a dependent child, the sponsored person must either be the biological child of the sponsor or the sponsor’s spouse, or the adopted child of the sponsor or the sponsor’s spouse.
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Necessary Income
The criterion of minimum income applicable in other sponsorship categories does not apply here. Thus, the sponsoring parents of the dependent children are not obliged to have Minimum Necessary Income (MNI), only if the dependent child being sponsored does not have any children of their own. If the dependent child being sponsored has dependent children of their own, the sponsor must meet the MNI required for their family unit size.
Need Help?
We have specialized in the area of sponsorship applications. Contact us for specialized guidance on the Dependent Sponsorship application process or for assistance in preparing an application. Make us a part of your reunification journey and relax.
Other Relative Family Sponsorship
Other relatives besides your immediate family members can be sponsored under certain circumstances.
Who can be sponsored?
Brother, sister, nephew, niece, grandson or granddaughter, who are orphaned, under the age of 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship
Another relative in case of no spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, or one of the following living relatives below (excluding the person you wish to sponsor) which you could sponsor instead:​
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a child
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a mother or father
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brother or sister
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uncle or aunt
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nephew or niece
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AND:
you do not have any of the relatives mentioned above who:
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is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, Indian (Native, registered under the Indian Act)
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have an application for permanent residence that is being currently processed
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Sponsoring eligibility
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· At least 18 years of age
· A Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen
· person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
· Not in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offence
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​It is compulsory for the sponsor to be present in Canada to sponsor eligible relatives unless he/she:
· is a Canadian citizen who lives abroad and
· plans to return to Canada the migration of relatives and
· is sponsoring your:
o spouse or
o common-law or conjugal partner or
o dependent children who have no dependent children
For sponsorship in Quebec, the sponsor must also meet Quebec’s conditions to be a sponsor by signing an “undertaking” with the province. This is a contract that binds your sponsorship.
Sponsor’s Responsibilities
As a sponsor to a relative, you must:
· meet prescribed income requirements
· sign a written agreement to provide financial support to your relative and any other eligible relatives coming with them:
o starting on the date they become a permanent resident
o for up to 20 years (depending on their age and their relation with the sponsor)
As well the sponsored relative must sign an agreement stating their own commitment to support themselves. This includes sponsored dependent children 18 or older. Dependent children under 19 are excluded from signing such agreement.
Who cannot sponsor a relative?
You may not be eligible to sponsor a relative if you:
· are in prison
· failed to your alimony or child support payments
· have declared bankruptcy and haven’t been released from it yet
· received social assistance for reasons except being disabled
· failed to pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments
· sponsored another relative in the past but didn’t comply with the terms of the sponsorship agreement
· were convicted of a violent crime, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence, depending on details of the case, such as:
o the type of offence
o how long ago it was
o whether a record suspension was issued (formerly called “pardons” in Canada)
Other things not on this list may stop you from being able to sponsor a relative.
Need Help?
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Make us a part of your relative Sponsorship application process or for assistance in preparing an application, and rest assured it is in the safest hands.