Family sponsorship

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.