Canada Family Sponsorship & Spousal Sponsorship

What is a Canada Family Sponsorship? Canadian citizens or permanent residents may sponsor certain close family members who are citizens of other countries to immigrate to Canada as permanent residents. The basic requirements to qualify for sponsorship are that a person must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, be at least 18 years of age, reside in Canada, and have sufficient income to support their relatives once they arrive in Canada. A sponsor must enter into a written agreement with the Canadian government to support their relatives for a period of three years for spouses, common-law partners, or conjugal partners, and ten years for other types of relatives.

NOTE that there is no requirement to show a minimum level of income to sponsor a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, or child; the income requirement only applies to other types of sponsored relatives.

The types of relatives who may be sponsored under the family class include the following:
 

Spouse:	A spouse is a husband or wife. To be considered the sponsor’s spouse, the sponsor and the applicant must be legally married. If the marriage did not occur in Canada, provided that the marriage is legal in the country where it occurred, then it will be accepted by the Canadian immigration authorities.
Common-law Partner:	A common-law partner is a person who the sponsor has lived together with for at least one year in a conjugal relationship. A conjugal relationship is a marriage-like relationship.
Conjugal Partner:	A conjugal partner is a person who has been in a marriage-like relationship with the sponsor for at least one year although they have not lived together because of extenuating circumstances.
Children:	A sponsor’s dependent children include children who are under the age of 22 and unmarried. Children over the age of 22 and children who are married can be sponsored if since reaching the age of 22 or the date they were married they have remained full-time students and have been financially dependent on the sponsor.
Parents:	Mother or father. It should be noted that when parents are sponsored they may also bring their dependent children with them, which will be the sponsor’s brothers and sisters. In this way a sponsor can bring their siblings who are under the age of 22, or who are over 22 and are full-time students, to Canada as permanent residents.
Grandparents:	Grandmother or grandfather.
Orphans:	An orphan is someone whose parents are both deceased. An orphaned sibling (brother or sister), nephew or niece, or grandchild may be sponsored if they are under the age of 18 and unmarried.
Adopted Children:	A person who is under the age of 18 who the sponsor intends to adopt in Canada may be sponsored.
Other Relative:	Where a sponsor does not have any spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, child, parent, grandparent, sibling, uncle, aunt, nephew, or niece living in Canada, and no relative living abroad who may be sponsored under the regular categories, then they may sponsor any other relative regardless of their age.

Note that brothers and sisters cannot be directly sponsored under the Family Class. Brothers and sisters can only be sponsored as accompanying dependents of sponsored parents.

 

In-land Spousal Sponsorship

In a normal sponsorship application a sponsor will remain in Canada while the person they are sponsoring will wait in their home country until their application is approved and their visa issued before they can come to Canada. An exception to this rule is the in-land spousal sponsorship category. Under this category it is possible for a Canadian permanent resident or citizen to sponsor their spouse or common-law partner while they are both in Canada. To qualify, the sponsored spouse must either have legal status in Canada, such as a visitor visa, study permit, or work permit; or they may be out of status provided they are not under a removal order.

Disclaimer: the information on this website is intended to be of a general nature and does not constitute legal advice.