Family Sponsorship

 

 

If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada, age 18 or over, you can sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents. If you become a permanent resident, you can live, study and work in Canada. If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you are responsible for supporting your relative financially when he or she arrives.

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You can sponsor your:

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• Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner

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• Dependent child (or 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 relative:  *only Lonely Canadians are eligible to sponsor (have no other family living in Canada)

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Basic requirements for family sponsorship

To be a sponsor:

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• You must be 18 years of age or older

• You and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your relative, if necessary. This agreement also says the person becoming a permanent resident will make every effort to support her or himself

• You must provide financial support for a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for three years from the date they become a permanent resident

• You must provide financial support for a dependent child for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first

 

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Definitions of relationships​

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Spouse - You are a spouse if you are married to your sponsor and your marriage is legally valid

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Common-law partner - You are a common-law partner, either of the opposite sex or same sex, if you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in a continuous 12-month period that was not interrupted. You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household

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Conjugal partner - This category is for partners, either of the opposite sex or same sex, in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from living together and therefore cannot qualifying as common-law partners or spouses

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Dependent children - A son or daughter is dependent when the child:

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• is 21 and younger and does not have a spouse or common-law partner

• is older than 21 and depended substantially on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition

 

Please Note:  Dependent children who are 21 and younger became eligible to be sponsored on November 11, 2017, when changes to immigration legislation will come into force.

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Sponsorship obligations

All sponsors are required to sign an undertaking to provide the sponsored person with the basic requirements from the day they enter Canada until the term of the undertaking terminates. The undertaking is a contract between the sponsor(s) and IRCC that the sponsor will repay the government for any social assistance payments made to the sponsored person. Sponsors remain obligated to the undertaking agreement for the entire period of the contract, even in a change of circumstances such as marital breakdown, separation, divorce, or a financial change in circumstances.

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In the case of a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, a sponsor is required to sign an undertaking to reimburse the federal or provincial governments from the date in which they become a permanent resident for the period of three years.

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In the case of a child under the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the child becomes a permanent resident of Canada for the period of 10 years or until the child reaches the age of 25 years, whichever is earlier.

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In the case of a dependent child over the age of 19 years, of the sponsor or the spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, the obligation commences on the day that the dependent child becomes a permanent resident, for a period of three years.

In the case of parents and grandparents, the sponsorship obligation extends for a period of 20 years from the date in which the member of the family class becomes a permanent resident. For all other family members, the obligation is of a duration of 10 years. 

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The Supreme Court of Canada, in its 2011 judgment of Attorney-General of Canada vs. Mavi, the court decided that while a sponsor’s obligation to reimburse the state for benefits collected by his or her relatives can be deferred in some circumstances, it cannot be wiped off the books entirely.

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Sponsors living outside Canada

Canadian citizens living outside of Canada may sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children without dependent children of their own, who have not been convicted of an offence causing bodily harm, provided that they are able to demonstrate that they will reside in Canada after their sponsored landing(s).

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Permanent residents residing abroad may not sponsor their family from outside Canada. Furthermore, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada may only file an in-Canada application to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner if they are cohabiting in Canada; otherwise, the application must be filed through a visa office. These are areas which give rise to various complexities and challenges for sponsors.

Sponsors and sponsored persons in Quebec:
 

Sponsor (guarantor)

You can sponsor a close relative who has not been convicted of an offence causing bodily harm if you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Quebec, you are at least 18 years of age and you satisfy the prerequisites.

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Spousal/Common-Law Partner Sponsorship Process

The processing times on average are between 8 to 12 months, depending on the visa office responsible for processing the application.  Some larger visa offices such as the USA can process applications as fast as 4 to 6 months.

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All applications for both Inland and Outland Sponsorship are submitted to CPC-M in Mississauga.  Once an application is deemed to be complete with all required forms and documents, and the sponsor is eligible, the application is forwarded for further processing. Incomplete applications are returned 3 months later.

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There are 2 types of applications for Spouse and Common-Law Sponsorship

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• Outland Spousal Sponsorship:  your application will be processed through the visa office in the sponsored spouse's country of citizenship or where they legally reside (if outside Canada).  If you and your Spouse/Common-law partner live together in Canada, you can still apply under this category.  Applying under this category will make you eligible to Appeal a refusal. You will not have rights to appeal for an Inland Spousal Application.

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• Inland Spousal Sponsorship (Spouse or Common-Law in-Canada category): your application will be processed in Canada and you and your sponsor MUST live together.  The person being sponsored MUST have temporary status in Canada as a worker, student, or visitor.  The person being sponsored may be eligible for an Open Work Permit.

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Parental Sponsorship 

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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 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. 

• If the sponsor lives in Quebec, an additional undertaking agreement must be signed

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Sponsors must provide Notices of Assessment from the CRA to IRCC to prove that they meet the minimum necessary income requirement.

 

If you do not qualify for Parental PR sponsorship because you do not meet the MNI for the 3 year period, you can apply for a Super Visa as the income required is only for 1 year and it is about 30% lower.  

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Super Visa

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A great way to bring Parents and Grandparents to Canada is through the Super Visa program. This program allows family members to come to Canada as long-term visitors on a multiple entry visa that may last up to 10 years.  A Super Visa is valid for 2 years before it has to be renewed.

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​This is an ideal option for Canadian Citizens and Canadian Permanent Residents who are waiting to sponsor their parents for PR, or who currently do not qualify for Parental PR sponsorship.  

 

The financial requirement for a Super Visa is less strict than PR sponsorship-  the minimum necessary income (MNI) is 30% lower than that of PR sponsorship, and only 1 year of gross income must exceed the MNI vs 3 years with PR Sponsorship.

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To be eligible for a Super Visa:

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• The sponsor must meet the minimum necessary income (for Super Visa) requirement, and provide the most recent Canadian tax return (Notice of assessment) where line 150 meets or exceeds this amount.

• Purchase Canadian healthcare insurance of $100,000 coverage for at least 1 year- check the cost for insurance here. (approximately $2,000 - $3,000 CAD per year).

• Complete a medical examination

• A written commitment of financial support from the Sponsor (child or grandchild) must be provided

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