Family Sponsorship

Family Class Sponsorship enables you to sponsor some family members or relatives if you become a permanent resident or citizen of Canada. Provided that you are at least 18 years old and you will provide for their needs upon arriving, also you should be a citizen or a permanent resident. You may be able to sponsor your spouse, partner, or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada if you are qualified.

• You must support them financially
• You should be sure they will not be needing social assistance from the government

Eligibility

• You should be at least 18 years of age
• You are a Canadian citizen or a Permanent Resident or if you are registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
• You should not be receiving social assistance unless you receive government help as a disabled person
• You should provide the basic needs of the one you are sponsoring

Income requirement

There are times that an income statement is not needed, however, you need to prove that you have enough resources to the requirements if you will be sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children. When sponsoring a spouse or a partner who has a dependent child or children.

Your spouse

• The two of you should legally be married and at least 18 years of age

Your common-law partner

• The two of you should not be legally married and at least 18 years old
• The two of you have been continuously living together for at least 12 months. In any case, you have been living apart the time spent apart should be short and temporary

Your conjugal partner

• The two of you are not 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 preference (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not recognized, or same-sex marriage is forbidden where they live),
• Oppression (for example, the two of you have a different religion, and they may be penalized legally or socially)

You have to provide evidence that the two of you could not live together or get married in your conjugal partner’s country (for example, evidence of rejected long-term stays in each other’s country).

Dependent children

• Less than 22 years old
• They don’t have a spouse or common-law partner

Those children who are 22 years old or older be eligible as dependants if they meet both of these conditions:

• The children are incapable to financially support themselves due to mental or physical condition
• The children are dependent on their parents for financial support prior to the age of 22

Except for age, your dependent child should continue to meet these conditions up until the application process is done.

Your own child

• If you are a Canadian citizen, your child may also be a Canadian citizen, though the child is not born in Canada. You may not sponsor your child for permanent residence if the child is a Canadian citizen already.
• If you are sponsoring only your child, and not sponsoring your spouse or partner, you will put in the application your child as the principal applicant. You must be able to show that the other parent or legal guardian approves of your child immigrating to Canada.
• If your child you want to sponsor has a child of their own (your grandchild), you will have to include your grandchild as a dependant in the application.
• If you have an adopted child or an orphaned family member and you want to sponsor them, you must adhere to the guidelines to sponsor your adopted child or orphaned family member instead.

Your spouse or partner and their child

• If your spouse or partner and a child you are sponsoring (either their own child or a child the two of you had together), you will have to name your spouse or partner as the principal applicant and the child as the dependant in the application.
• If the child you are sponsoring has a child of their own, you will have to include the grandchild as a dependant in the application.