Family Sponsorship Canada

Family Sponsorship Canada

Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on the opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of the Government of Canada is to see that families are reunited. Certain family members may qualify to settle in Canada long-term and become permanent residents under the family class category. After becoming permanent residents, they can live, study and work in Canada, thus you no longer need to apply for a visitor visa and provide a letter of invitation.

Like other immigration categories, family class sponsorship has certain requirements, such as minimum necessary income which should be met by the sponsor. If you are wondering how to sponsor someone to Canada, you should start by reviewing family sponsorship applications, eligibility, and requirements. You may be eligible to sponsor a child, spouse or a common-law partner living outside or inside Canada, if you are 18 years of age or older, and you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

When you are sponsoring a family member, whether it is your dependent child or spouse/common-law partner, you promise to support them financially. Therefore, you must work in Canada and meet certain income requirements. Sponsoring a family member to Canada is a big commitment, as you must sign an undertaking agreement. Kindly note, that family sponsorship in Canada is not eligible for a tax receipt. Below you’ll find more information on how to sponsor a relative to Canada, what are family sponsorship income requirements, how you should be sponsoring a child born outside of Canada, as well as surrogacy and immigration considerations.

Parents Sponsorship Changed in 2018

Moving abroad and leaving your parents on opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of Canadian government is to see that families are reunited in Canada. Along with spousal sponsorship, grandparents and parents sponsorship is the second highly demanded immigration stream under family class immigration. In 2017 The Government of Canada introduced new application intake process for parents and grandparents program (PGP). Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decided to randomly select 10,000 applications of Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents to Canada. Additional questions have been added to the 2018 version to help potential sponsors self-assess their eligibility based on minimum income requirements.

While parents immigration program might not be an option for you at this time, you may also consider temporary residence programs such as super visa and visitor visa. If you are not invited in 2018 to sponsor your parents and/or grandparents, you may submit interest to sponsor form in 2019. If you are still interested in sponsoring your parents, continue checking updates in case second round of parents sponsorship invitations is announced.

The results of the first round of 2018 Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Draw were announced on March 19, 2018. If you’re invited to apply to sponsor your parents or grandparents, you must submit complete application package before the deadline specified in your invitation. After you are approved as a sponsor and your parents pass eligibility assessment, they’ll immigrate to Canada.

Please note that you have only one attempt to submit application package. Given the long application processing times, it is critical to avoid any errors that can cause further delays or in some cases refusals. Save the time – hire an immigration consultant who will be there to help and guide you through the process.

Who can sponsor parents to Canada?

To sponsor you must be: 

• be 18 years of age or older;
  be a Canadian citizen, Registered Indian or permanent resident;
  be sponsoring a member of the Family Class;
  live in Canada;
  sign an undertaking promising to provide for the basic requirements of the person being sponsored;
  sign an agreement with the person you are sponsoring that confirms that each of you understands your mutual obligations and responsibilities;
  prove that you have sufficient income to provide the basic requirements for your family members in Canada as well as the persons included in your sponsorship undertaking. You may also have a co-signer.
  YOU MAY NOT SPONSOR IF YOU…
  are in receipt of social assistance for a reason other than disability,
  are in default of an undertaking, an immigration loan, a performance bond, or family support payments,
  are an undischarged bankrupt,
  were convicted of an offence of a sexual nature, a violent criminal offence, an offence against a relative that results in bodily harm or an attempt or threat to commit any such offences—depending on circumstances such as the nature of the offence, how long ago it occurred and whether a pardon was issued
  are under a removal order,
  are detained in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison,
  SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP CANADA
  Moving abroad and leaving your loved ones on opposite coast is not easy. One of the objectives of Canadian government is to see that families are reunited in Canada. Spousal sponsorship program is the most demanded stream under family class immigration. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) strongly supports family reunification, thus spousal sponsorship application processing is given the highest priority at Canadian Visa Offices. Processing time was recently reduced from 26 to 12 months for 80% of applications for both in-Canada and outside of Canada cases.

The spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner looking to immigrate to Canada under spousal sponsorship category must be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. If you applied to sponsor spouse outside Canada, once decision is made and sponsorship application is approved, Canadian immigration authorities will issue the applicant Canada Spouse Visa (a confirmation of permanent residence).

Applicant (person being sponsored) will become permanent resident upon landing in Canada, and must enter Canada before the expiry date, which appears on temporary visa.
If you are looking to apply for spousal sponsorship inside Canada, application is being processed first and once approved, applicant’s status will change from temporary to permanent. Spousal sponsorship within Canada gives an opportunity to person being sponsored and living in Canada to apply for an Open-Work Permit.

YOU CAN BECOME A SPONSOR IF YOU ARE:
a Canadian citizen, a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act or a permanent resident,
at least 18 years old
living in Canada:
if you’re a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must show that you plan to live in Canada when your sponsored relative becomes a permanent resident.
You can’t sponsor someone if you’re a permanent resident living outside of Canada.
You must also be able to show that you can provide basic needs for:

yourself,
your spouse or partner,
your spouse or partner’s dependent child(ren) (if applicable)
your dependent child(ren) (if you’re sponsoring only your dependent child).
MINIMUM INCOME REQUIREMENTS
In most cases, there is no low-income-cut-off (LICO) for spouse, partner or dependent child sponsorships. However, if either a spouse or partner you’re sponsoring has as dependent child who has dependent children of their own, or a dependent child you are sponsoring has a dependent child of their own, you must meet a minimum LICO score, which is determined by the Canadian government each year. If you must meet LICO requirements, you must include a Financial Evaluation (IMM 1283) form with your application

YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO SPONSOR IF YOU:
signed an undertaking for a previous spouse or partner and it hasn’t been three years since they became a permanent resident,
receive social assistance for a reason other than disability,
previously sponsored someone and did not pay back any social assistance that they received while the undertaking was in place.
are in default on an immigration loan or a performance bond
did not pay court-ordered alimony or child support
have declared bankruptcy which has not been discharged
were convicted of
an offence of a sexual nature,
a violent crime,
an offence against a relative that caused bodily harm or
threatened or attempted to commit any of the above offences—depending on the nature of the offence, how long ago it happened and if you received a pardon
were previously sponsored as a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner and became a permanent resident of Canada less than five years ago,
are under a removal order,
are in a penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison,
have already applied to sponsor your current spouse or partner and haven’t received a decision.