Family Sponsorship

Family sponsorship

Canada’s priority is for families to be reunited; thus, Family Sponsorship Program was designed to reunite families in Canada. There are various ways to consider before you can sponsor your family members. First, you must be eligible to be a sponsor and the person being sponsored must be admissible to come to Canada.

These are the basic requirements for a SPONSOR

• Must be 18 years old and older

• Must be a Canadian Citizen, Permanent resident or Registered Indian whose status is not being revoked

• Must sign an agreement promising that you will provide for the needs of the person being sponsored

• Have no current Bankruptcy

• Have not previously sponsored another spouse or common-law in the last 5 years

Persons being sponsored may be

• Spouse, Common-Law, Conjugal Partner

• Dependent Children

• Parents or Grandparents

• Adopted Children

• Orphaned Family Member

• Other Family Member

Special requirements

Depending on who the person you are sponsoring there are certain requirements for the SPONSOR, unique to every person being sponsored.

• Spouse, Common-Law, Conjugal Partner Sponsorship – In order for you to sponsor your partner you would need to prove that you can provide for the needs of your partner when he/she arrives in Canada within the 5 years from the time she becomes Permanent Resident. You, the Sponsor, will be barred from sponsoring another spouse, common-law or conjugal partner for 5 years form the time your partner became PR.

• Dependent Children – In order for you to sponsor your child/children, you would need to prove that you can provide for the needs of your child/children when he/she arrives in Canada within the 10 years or before they reach the age of 22 from the time he/she becomes Permanent Resident. Must meet the Low Income Cut-Off if the dependent child/ren have a dependent child/ren of their own.

• Parents/Grandparents – In order for you to sponsor your parents/grandparents you would need to meet the Low Income Cut-Off plus 30 % for 3 previous taxation years. A co-signer may be included in the application. Your obligation to provide for their needs is 20 years.

• Adopted Child/Children – When adopting a child/children from another country, you must meet the requirements under the Hague Convention and vice versa for the adopted child/children

• Orphaned Family Member – In order for you to sponsor an orphaned family member, you must meet the Low Income Cut-off for 12 months. A co-signer may apply together with the application.

• Other Family Member – if you don’t have a relative in Canada or a living immediate family that you can sponsor then another relative that is related to you by blood can be sponsored together with his/her family. You must meet the Low-income Cut-off for 12 months and a co-signer may apply together with your application.

Requirements for the PERSON BEING SPONSORED

The person/s being sponsored must meet the following requirements for his/her to be eligible to be sponsored:

• Must be admissible to Canada

– Criminal background Check
– Medical Check to prove that they don’t have any underlying sickness that might be of risk of excessive demand for Canada to treat

• Spouse, Common-Law, Conjugal Partner – They must prove that the relationship is genuine. Can not sponsor another person within 3 years from the time PR was received.

• Dependent Child/ren – must be under 22 years of age form the time the application is submitted. Must prove that the child/ren need financial support and is not employed.