Family Sponsorship Immigration

Family Sponsorship Immigration Overview in Canada

If you are a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada aged 18 or older, you have the opportunity to sponsor certain family members to become Canadian permanent residents. This sponsorship allows your relatives to live, study, and work in Canada.

Basic requirements for family sponsorship:

• You must be 18 years of age or older.
• You must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
• Both you and the sponsored relative must sign a sponsorship agreement, committing you to provide financial support if necessary. The sponsored person must also make efforts to support themselves.

Eligible family members you can sponsor include:

• Spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner
• Dependent children
• Parents and grandparents
• Brothers or sisters, nephews or nieces, granddaughters or grandsons who are orphaned, under 18, and not married or in a common-law relationship
• Another relative under specific conditions
• Certain accompanying relatives of the above

There are specific definitions for spouses, common-law partners, and conjugal partners based on legal status and living arrangements.

Additionally, the Spousal Work Permit Pilot Program allows spouses and common-law partners already in Canada to work while their immigration applications are processed.

As a sponsor, you are required to sign an undertaking to provide financial support for the sponsored person from their entry into Canada until the term of the undertaking ends. This undertaking is a contract with the Canadian government, and sponsors must repay any social assistance payments made to the sponsored person.

Sponsorship obligations vary depending on the family member and can last for up to 20 years.

Canadian citizens living outside Canada can still sponsor their family members if they demonstrate their intention to reside in Canada once the sponsored individuals become permanent residents.

Sponsoring family members in Quebec has specific requirements and additional conditions for various relationships.

Overall, the Family Sponsorship program offers Canadian citizens and permanent residents the chance to reunite with their loved ones and create a strong foundation for their family’s future in Canada.