Your relatives can live, study and work in Canada if they become permanent residents of Canada. You can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada if you’re at least 18 years old and a:
- Canadian citizen or
- person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
- permanent resident of Canada
Type of sponsorship
Sponsor your spouse, partner or dependent children living inside / outside Canada
One of the objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (the Act) is to see that families are reunited in Canada. The Family Class category is for applicants who have a close relative who is not a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada. A family class can be defined as a class of persons who may become permanent residents on the basis of the requirements provided under the Act.
Who can become a sponsor
You can become a sponsor if you are:
- at least 18 years old
- a Canadian citizen, a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or a permanent resident living in Canada:
- If you are a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must show that you plan to live in Canada when your sponsored relative(s) become(s) a permanent resident.
- You can’t sponsor someone if you are a permanent resident living outside Canada.
- able to prove that you are not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability, and;
- can provide for the basic needs of any person you are sponsoring (and in some limited situations, that you meet the low-income cut-off).
Note: There is no low income cut-off (LICO) for spouse, partner or dependent child sponsorships, unless a dependent child also has one or more dependent children of their own. If a dependent child you are sponsoring has one or more dependent children of their own, you must include a Financial Evaluation (IMM 1283) form with your application (see your checklist for more details).
Who can’t become a sponsor
You can’t be a sponsor if you:
- have failed to pay:
- an immigration loan
- a performance bond
- family support payments
- have failed to provide for the basic needs of a previously-sponsored relative who received social assistance
- are under a removal order
- are in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison
- receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
- are still going through the process of bankruptcy (undischarged bankruptcy)
- were sponsored by a spouse or partner and you became a permanent resident less than five years ago
- sponsored a previous spouse or partner and three years have not passed since this person became a permanent resident
- have already applied to sponsor your current spouse, partner or child and a decision on your application hasn’t been made yet
- were convicted of a violent or sexual offence, or an offence that caused bodily harm to a relative—or you attempted or threatened to commit any of these offences
Who you can sponsor
To be eligible for permanent residence, the principal applicant and any dependants must not be inadmissible to Canada.
You can sponsor a:
Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner
You can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner if:
- they are at least 18 years old
- your relationship is genuine (real) and wasn’t entered into just to get permanent resident status in Canada
If your spouse or common-law partner is applying in the Spouse or Common-law Partner in Canada class, they must already co-habit (live) with you in Canada.
Important: A conjugal partner is, in relation to a sponsor, a foreign national residing outside Canada who has been in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year. A foreign national residing inside Canada cannot be sponsored as a conjugal partner.
If a permanent resident sponsor misrepresents a material fact on their application to sponsor, it could result in the sponsored relative being found inadmissible and the permanent resident sponsor could be removed from Canada and be found inadmissible for a period of 2 years from the date of removal.
If a Canadian citizen sponsor misrepresents a material fact on their application to sponsor, they could face penalties.
Sponsor your parents and grandparents
The Family Class sponsorship program includes a stream for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Citizenship and Immigration Canada has begun receiving 10,000 sponsorship applications for parents and grandparents (PGP) of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. Successful parents and grandparents under this program will receive Canadian permanent residence and may be able to apply for Canadian Citizenship four years thereafter. To qualify to sponsor PGP relatives, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident must meet, in addition to the general requirements for sponsorship, the following enhanced criteria:
- The sponsor must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident;
- The sponsor must be 18 years of age or older;
- Sign an undertaking to financially support the parent or grandparent, and reimburse the government for any social assistance paid out to the relative, for a period of 20 years from the date of permanent residence;
- Sponsors will have to prove that they meet the minimum income requirements by submitting notices of assessment issued by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) in support of their sponsorship and they must also demonstrate they have met the minimum necessary income level for three consecutive years.
If a co-signer is included in the sponsorship application, the combined income of the co-signer and the sponsor will be considered;
Any amounts from the following sources will be deducted from the sponsor and co-signer’s income for the purposes of financial eligibility:
- Provincial allowances received for a program of instruction or training;
- Social assistance received from a province;
- Financial assistance received from the Government of Canada under a resettlement program;
- Amounts received under the Employment Insurance Act, other than special benefits;
- Monthly guaranteed income supplement received under the Old Age Security Act;
- Canada child tax benefit received under the Income Tax Act;
In practice, the requirement to demonstrate past income through CRA issued documents means that new permanent residents to Canada will have to wait a minimum of 3 years from landing in Canada, before being eligible to sponsor their parents and grandparents, unless they held temporary status in the country prior to receiving permanent resident status.
As well, the minimum required income must be met from the date on which the sponsorship application is signed until the day the sponsored family members become Canadian permanent residents.
Sponsor your adopted children and other relatives
You may be able to sponsor certain relatives to immigrate to Canada under the Family Class if you’re at least 18 years old and a:
- Canadian citizen or
- person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
- permanent resident of Canada
If you sponsor a relative to come to Canada as a permanent resident, you must:
- support your relative financially when they arrive
- be able to meet basic needs for yourself and your relative, such as:
- food
- shelter
- clothing
- make sure your relative doesn’t need social assistance
Sponsoring an eligible relative
You can sponsor certain relatives if you’re 18 years of age or older and a:
- Canadian citizen or
- person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or
- permanent resident of Canada
You must live in Canada to sponsor eligible relatives unless you:
- are a Canadian citizen who lives abroad and
- plan to return to Canada when your relatives immigrate and
- are sponsoring your:
- spouse or
- common-law or conjugal partner or
- dependent children who have no dependent children
If you live in Quebec, you must also meet Quebec’s conditions to be a sponsor after we approve you as a sponsor. This includes signing an “undertaking” with the province. This is a contract that binds your sponsorship.
Your responsibilities
When you sponsor a relative to become a permanent resident of Canada, you must:
- meet set income guidelines
- agree in writing to give financial support to your relative and any other eligible relatives coming with them:
- beginning on the date they become a permanent resident
- for up to 20 years (depending on their age and how you’re related)
The person you sponsor must sign an agreement saying they will make the effort to support themselves. This includes sponsored dependent children 18 or older. Dependent children under 19 don’t have to sign this agreement.
Who isn’t eligible to sponsor a relative
You may not be able to sponsor a relative if you:
- are in prison
- have not paid your alimony or child support payments
- have declared bankruptcy and haven’t been released from it yet
- got social assistance for reasons other than being disabled
- didn’t pay back an immigration loan, made late payments or missed payments
- sponsored another relative in the past and didn’t meet the terms of the sponsorship agreementwere convicted of a violent crime, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence, depending on details of the case, such as:
- the type of offence
- how long ago it was
- 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.
