Sponsorship

After establishing yourself in Canada and starting a new life in a new country, immigration Canada allows you to be able to provide Sponsorship to your loved ones to live with you. You can sponsor certain relatives to come to Canada if

• You are a Canadian Citizen, or Permanent Resident (living in Canada)
• You are 18 years of age or older
• You are not in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious

offence

• You, yourself, were not sponsored to Canada as a spouse within the last 5 years.

Who all you can sponsor:

• Spouse, Common Law Partner or a Conjugal Partner
• Dependent Child who is not married and under 22 years of age
• Parents and Grandparents
• Orphaned brother, sister, nephew, niece or grandchild
• You may sponsor one relative, related by blood or adoption, of any age if you don’t have a living relative you could sponsor instead and you (the sponsor) don’t have any relatives who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a registered Indian under the Indian Act

Spouse or Partner

• Spouse (husband, wife, partner- marriage must be legally recognized)
• Common-law Partner (person you are living with but not married to)
• Conjugal Partner (if your partner does not qualify under the Spouse or Common-Law category but you are in

a committed relationship equal to that of a marriage for at least 1 year. There must be extenuating

circumstances why you cannot live together- job location, studying abroad, inability to obtain visa to Canada

are NOT good enough reasons)

When sponsoring your Spouse or Common law, there are two processes to choose from based on the physical presence of the spouse or partner who has to be sponsored.

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.

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 until the Sponsorship application is finalized.

Income requirement

In most cases, there isn’t an income requirement to sponsor your spouse or partner or dependent child. You only need to show that you have enough money to meet the income requirements if:

• You’re sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or
• You’re sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.

Requirements that must be met in order to qualify for Sponsorship as a Spouse or Partner:

• The relationship is genuine (real) and was not entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring Permanent Residence
• If the spouse or common-law partner is applying in the Spouse or Common-law Partner “In Canada class”, he or she must cohabit (live) with the sponsor in Canada

Dependent children

If you are immigrating to Canada, you can choose to include your children as accompanying dependents on your application for permanent residence. However, if you choose not to include them, or are otherwise unable to do so, they may still be able to join you in Canada later. Canada’s child sponsorship program allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their biological or adopted children

Children qualify as dependents if they meet both of these requirements:

• they are under 22 years old
• they don’t have a spouse or common law partner

Children 22 years old or older qualify as dependents if they meet both of these requirements:

• they are unable to financially support themselves because of a mental or physical condition
• they have depended on their parents for financial support since before the age of 22

The dependent child must continue to meet these requirements until the application has been processed except the age which has to be within the limit at the time of the application.

Parent or Grandparent Sponsorship

Canada’s commitment to family reunification extends to parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents through the parent and grandparent sponsorship program.

A Canadian Citizen, Permanent resident or a registered Indian can apply for their parents and grandparents residency application if

• the sponsor receives an invitation to apply
• the sponsor is at least 18 years old
• the sponsor lives in Canada
• the sponsor has enough money to support the applicants
• the sponsor is capable to show the availability of enough money by providing a proof of income The incomes can be combined if there is a cosigner for the sponsorship

They must also agree to financially support their sponsored family members, if needed. Sponsors who are unable to permanently support their parent or grandparent may be eligible for a Super Visa, a long-term, multiple-entry visa for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.