Family Sponsorship
Family Sponsorship Canada.
The Eligible Applicant can sponsor a spouse, partner or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada. Applicant has to.
- support them financially
- make sure they do not need social assistance from the government
You can check your Canadian Family Sponsorship Eligibility.
- Minimum Age 18 years old
- Must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act
- Canadian citizen living outside Canada must show that he or she has a plan to live in Canada when the sponsored persons become permanent residents.
- A permanent resident living outside Canada. Can’t sponsor.
- Prove that person is not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability
- You can provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor
Who Lives outside of Quebec
Sponsor must promise to financially take care of the persons he or she sponsoring for a period of time.
The undertaking commits to:
- providing financial support for the initial period when they become permanent residents.
- Returning favour or assistance any provincial social assistance your sponsored family members get during that time
Also, you and your sponsored family members need to agree to certain responsibilities during the undertaking period. it call the sponsorship agreement.
The sponsorship agreement means that:
- The sponsor provides the basic needs of the sponsored family members
- The person sponsor will make every effort to support themselves and their family members
At the time of application sponsor needs to to complete and sign a form that includes the undertaking and the sponsorship agreement.
Income requirement
In most cases, there isn’t an income requirement to sponsor the spouse or partner or dependent child. Only need to show that you have enough money to meet the income requirements if:
- One can sponsor a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or
- Sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child, and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.
The Financial Evaluation form instructions explain how much money is required and how to fill out the form.
If you live in Quebec
You must meet Quebec’s immigration sponsorship requirements after we approve you as a sponsor. You must sign an undertaking with the province of Quebec.
The Quebec Ministry in charge of immigration will assess your income.
Who can’t sponsor their spouse, partner or child?
You can’t sponsor your spouse, partner or child if:
- Less than 18 years old
- Won’t live in Canada when the persons you want to sponsor become permanent residents
- Not a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
- Temporary resident, that is you’re visiting, studying or working in Canada on a visa or permit
- The permanent residence application is still in process
- Must have permanent resident status at the time you submit a sponsorship application.
- Don’t have enough money to support the persons who want to sponsor (if applicable)
No eligible to sponsor the spouse, or partner if:
- were sponsored by a spouse or partner and you became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago
- Still financially responsible for a previous spouse or partner that you sponsored. This means you’re still bound by the 3 year undertaking to take care of this person.
Not be eligible to sponsor your spouse, partner or child if:
- Already applied to sponsor the spouse, parent or child currently seeking to sponsor and a decision on that application hasn’t been made
- are in jail, prison, or a penitentiary
- didn’t pay back:
- an immigration loan
- a performance bond
- court-ordered family support payments such as alimony or child support (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
- didn’t give the financial support that agreed to when signed a sponsorship agreement to sponsor someone else in the past (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
- declared bankruptcy and are not discharged (not applicable if you live in Quebec)
- receive social assistance for a reason other than a disability
- Convicted of attempting, threatening to commit or committing a violent criminal offence, any offence against a relative or any sexual offence inside or outside Canada
- can’t legally stay in Canada and must leave the country because you received a removal order
There may be other reasons that make you ineligible to sponsor your spouse, partner or child. If we determine you’re not eligible to sponsor, we’ll tell you why.
Who you can sponsor in Family Sponsorship Canada.
Can sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent children.
Your spouse
Your spouse can be either sex and must be:
- legally married to you
- at least 18 years old
Your common-law partner
Your common-law partner:
- isn’t legally married to you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been living with you for at least 12 consecutive months, meaning you’ve been living together continuously for 1 year in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart
- Any time spent away from each other should have been
- short
- temporary
- Any time spent away from each other should have been
If you or your common-law partner choose to end the relationship, we consider the relationship to be over.
You’ll need to give proof of your common-law relationship.
Conjugal partner
Your conjugal partner:
- isn’t legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
- can be either sex
- is at least 18 years old
- has been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
- lives outside Canada
- can’t live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons such as
- their marital status (for example, they’re still married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
- their sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live),
- persecution (for example, your relationship is between different religious groups which is not accepted and they may be punished legally or socially)
You’ll need to give proof that you could not live together or get married in your conjugal partner’s country (for example, proof of refused long-term stays in each other’s country).
Dependent children
Children qualify as dependants if they meet both of these requirements:
- They’re under 22 years old
- They don’t have a spouse or common-law partner
Children 22 years old or older qualify as dependants 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
With the exception of age, your dependent child must continue to meet these requirements until we finish processing your application.
Use our online tool to check if a child qualifies as a dependant.
If they qualify as a dependent child, you can sponsor
- your own child
- If you’re a Canadian citizen, your child may also be a Canadian citizen, even if they weren’t born in Canada. You can’t sponsor your child for permanent residence if they’re Canadian citizens already. Check if your child is already a Canadian citizen.
- If you’re sponsoring just your child, without sponsoring your spouse or partner, you’ll name your child as the principal applicant in the application. You’ll have to show that the other parent or legal guardian agrees to your child immigrating to Canada. See your checklist for what you’ll need to provide.
- If the child you want to sponsor has a child of their own (your grandchild), you’ll include your grandchild as a dependant in the application.
- If you want to sponsor your adopted child or an orphaned family member, follow the instructions to sponsor your adopted child or orphaned family member instead.
- your spouse or partner and their child
- If you’re sponsoring your spouse or partner and a child (either their own child or a child you’ve had together), you’ll name your spouse or partner as the principal applicant and the child as the dependant in the application.
- If the child you want to sponsor has a child of their own, you’ll include the grandchild as a dependant in the application.
Eligibility of the people you’re sponsoring
To show they meet the eligibility requirements, your spouse, partner, dependent child and their dependent children (if applicable) must provide:
- All required forms and documents with their application
- any additional information we request during processing, including
- medical exams
- biometrics
You can’t sponsor someone who is inadmissible to Canada. This means they’re not allowed to come to Canada.
Also, You Can Apply for Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program (MPNP)