One way for a foreign national to be granted a permanent residency or Canadian citizenship under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) is through Family Reunification (Section 12(1)). A Canadian citizen or a permanent resident may sponsor their spouse or other family members to come to Canada to live or eventually work, subject to different rules for the sponsor and the sponsored family member.
This article will focus on sponsoring family members to immigrate to Canada, spousal sponsorship is discussed in another article.
Who is eligible for family sponsorship in Canada?
Both the sponsor and the sponsored relative or family member must meet certain requirements for Canadian family sponsorship. Specific eligibilities for Canadian family sponsorship may depend on the province where the sponsor and family member will reside.
If the sponsor and family members plan to live in Toronto, for example, they should consult with an immigration lawyer in Ontario.
Eligibilities of the Sponsor
To sponsor a family member or relative under Canadian family sponsorship, a sponsor must be:
- 18 years old or older; and
- currently living in Canada; and
- a Canadian citizen; or
- a registered Indian under the Canadian Indian Act; or
- a permanent resident of Canada.
If the sponsor is not living in Canada at the time of the sponsorship, they must be return to Canada when the sponsored family member or relative arrives in Canada.
The sponsor must be able to prove that they can support their sponsored family member or relative once they arrive in Canada, such as paying for basic needs (e.g., food, shelter, clothing, etc.). The sponsored family member should not need any social assistance from the provincial or federal government.
If the sponsor lives in Québec and the sponsored family member will also live in Québec, the sponsor must meet the province’s prescribed conditions under its separate family sponsorship program. This means that after being approved by the federal government as a sponsor, that sponsor must also apply separately in Québec.
Can a sponsor get disqualified?
An application to become a sponsor under Canadian family sponsorship will be denied if the sponsor:
- is imprisoned;
- was convicted of a violent crime or a sexual offence, or an offence against another relative;
- does not pay their current alimony or child support (parenting arrangement) payments;
- has been declared bankrupt and hasn’t been released from it by the time of their application;
- has received social assistance for any reason other than being disabled;
- has not paid or has missed payments on their immigration loan;
- has previously sponsored another relative and has not met the terms of the sponsorship agreement; or
- any other reason based on factual circumstances as per evaluation by the immigration officer.
Canada is making it easier for families to reunite and support themselves once in Canada. Faster processing times, open work permits, and more understanding processing decisions are part of the new measures announced today by Minister Fraser: https://t.co/7CI5l8pvpO pic.twitter.com/dXLpPOHDVY
— IRCC (@CitImmCanada) May 26, 2023
Eligibilities of the Sponsored Family Member
Every family member under Canadian family sponsorship has different eligibilities that they must meet to come to Canada. Family members who may be sponsored are:
- family members related either by blood or through adoption: parents and grandparents;
- those who qualify as a dependent child: brothers or sisters, half brothers or sisters, stepbrothers or stepsisters; or
- orphaned family members whose parents passed away; are related to the sponsor by blood or by adoption; are single; and are under 18 years old: brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces or grandchildren.
A “dependent child” is one who is either:
- under 22 years old and is single (which means that they are not married or not in a common-law relationship); or
- 22 years old or older but depended on the financial support of a parent even before reaching 22 years old and is unable to provide for themselves due to a medical condition.
Canadian family sponsorship can include other relatives not mentioned above if the sponsor:
- doesn’t have any other living relative in Canada who is either a citizen, a permanent resident, or a registered Indian;
- doesn’t have any other living relative outside Canada that they can sponsor; and
- may only sponsor one relative, who is related to them by blood or adoption, and of any age.
Sponsorship Undertaking or Sponsorship Agreement
The sponsor and the sponsored family member or relative must complete an undertaking or an agreement outlining certain conditions.
Sponsorship Undertaking
For the sponsor, they must agree in writing – through a sponsorship undertaking – that they will cover the financial needs of their sponsored relative or family member for a certain period.
The length of this undertaking will depend on certain factors such as the age of the sponsored relative or family member and the province where both will be living (Québec has a separate length of undertaking).
The length of the undertaking starts not on the day of the sponsored family’s arrival, but on the day they become permanent residents in Canada.
The length of the undertaking is any of the following:
- for biological or adopted dependent child below 22 years old: 10 years, or until age 25, whichever comes first
- for a dependent child above 22 years old: 3 years
- for a parent or a grandparent: 20 years
- for other relatives: 10 years
The length of the undertaking will not be affected even if:
- there are changes in the personal relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored relative;
- the sponsored person becomes a Canadian citizen;
- the sponsor’s financial situation drastically changes; or
- the sponsor withdraws the sponsorship application but the withdrawal was received after the sponsored family member or relative became a permanent resident in Canada.
Sponsorship Agreement
The sponsored family member or relative must also consent to an agreement which states that they will also exert the necessary effort to provide for themselves to reduce the burden placed upon their sponsor. However, there are sponsored family members who are exempt from this sponsorship agreement, such as dependent children who are under 19 years old.
Do you have other questions regarding Canadian family sponsorship? Drop your questions below in the comment section or consult with the best immigration lawyers in Canada.