Canadian nationals and permanent residents can sponsor their minor children, parents,relatives, spouses, common-law couples, and conjugal couples through the Family Class.
Canada's Government has a deep commitment to bringing families united whenever possible. For this cause, handling applications for the Family Class is a high priority at Canadian Visa Offices.
Available Sponsorship programs:
Spouse or Common Law Partner Sponsorship
Requirements for the Sponsor:
The sponsor must be at least 16 years of age
The sponsor must be a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen
The sponsor cannot be in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offence
The sponsor cannot have been sponsored to Canada as a spouse within the last 5 years.
Requirements for the Sponsored Person:
The sponsored person must be at least 16 years of age and
The sponsored person must not be too closely related by blood to the sponsor.
Requirements for the nature of the relationship:
The applicant must prove that the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored person qualifies under one of three categories:
Spouse
Common-law partner
Conjugal partner
An individual cannot apply to become a sponsor if he or she:
did not pay an immigration loan, a performance bond and/or family support payments
failed to support a previously-sponsored relative, which resulted in the sponsored individual seeking social assistance to meet his or her basic needs
is under a removal order
is in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison
receives social assistance for reasons other than a disability
have filed for bankruptcy and have not received an 'order of discharge' by the court (he or she is still going through the process of bankruptcy)
were sponsored and held permanent resident status for less than five years
sponsored another spouse/partner previously and three years have not passed since the sponsored spouse/partner became a Canadian permanent resident
have already submitted an application to sponsor his or her current spouse/partner/child and a decision was not yet made on his or her submitted application
were convicted of a violent or sexual offence or an offence that caused, attempted to cause or threatened to cause bodily harm to a relative.
Requirements for the Sponsor:
The sponsor and their relative must sign a sponsorship agreement that commits the sponsor to provide financial support to their relative, if necessary. If sponsoring a person coming to the Province of Quebec, an "undertaking" with the Province must be signed.
The sponsor must promise to provide financial support for the relative and any other eligible relatives accompanying them for a period of 20 years. The time period begins the day the parent or grandparent becomes a permanent resident.
The sponsor must meet the minimum income threshold for this program.
Requirements for the Sponsored Person:
The sponsored person must be the parent(s) or grandparent(s) of the sponsor.
Requirements for the Sponsor:
The sponsor must be the child or grandchild of the sponsored person.
The sponsor must provide a written commitment of financial support.
The sponsor must meet the minimum income threshold for this program.
Requirements for the Sponsored Person:
The sponsored person must be the parent or grandparent of the sponsor;
The sponsored person must be admissible to Canada as a visitor
The sponsored person must prove that he or she has bought Canadian medical insurance coverage for at least one year
The sponsored person must undergo an Immigration Medical Examination.
Requirements for the Sponsor:
The sponsor must be 18 years of age
The sponsor must be a Canadian permanent resident living in Canada or a Canadian citizen
The sponsor cannot be in prison, bankrupt, under a removal order (if a permanent resident) or charged with a serious offence.
Requirements for the Sponsored Person:
The sponsored person must be in one of the following situations of dependency
Less than 22 years of age and not a spouse or common-law partner
Is 22 years of age or older and has depended substantially on the financial support of the parent since before the age of 22 and is unable to be financially self-supporting due to a physical or mental condition.
Requirements for nature of the relationship:
The biological child of the parent if the child has not been adopted by a person other than the spouse or common-law partner
The adopted child of the parent.
To find out more regarding family sponsorship and your eligibility, contact us.