Family Sponsorship Programs

Family sponsorship programs allow eligible Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor their family members to become permanent residents. 

Even if the sponsor is a Canadian citizen, they cannot offer the sponsored person citizenship - they must obtain permanent residence first and after meeting eligibility requirements for citizenship, they must apply separately. 

In special circumstances of sponsoring children, there may be a chance of getting them Canadian citizenship right away. 

There are 7 primary categories for family sponsorship:

1. Spouses

2. Common-law partners

3. Conjugal partners

4. Children 

5. Parents and grandparents

6. Orphaned minors

7. Other relatives

For each category, the Canadian sponsor must meet eligibility requirements such as:

• Being 18 years of age or older

• Must be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or a registered Indian per Canadian Indian Act

• Have a clean criminal record and be financially sustainable

Financial sustainability can mean different things depending on what category is being utilized - for example, sponsors that are sponsoring their spouses or life partners are not subject to meeting any minimal financial requirements. 

However, sponsors must show that they have the ability and the capacity to support their sponsored spouse/partner and cover immediate living expenses. 

Further, financial sustainability can mean:

• Being released from bankruptcy

• Receiving social assistance other than disability

• Prior history with immigration loans

The general requirement for the sponsored person (the applicant) is:

1. Being at least 18 years of age (spouses, life partners) 

   1. Children must be under 22 years of age

   2. Orphaned minors or adopted children must be under 18 years of age
      
      

2. Meeting admissibility requirements per IRCC rules such as:

   1. Clean criminal record

   2. Good health
      
      

3. In case of married couples or adopted children, the marriage and/or adoption processes must have been completed legally based on respective countries and its laws

Spouses

Must be legally married to each other and have enough documents to show a genuine relationship. 

These documents can include photos, social media accounts reflecting a public relationship, joint cohabitation, joint utility accounts and insurance plans, legally executed will, support letters from friends, etc.

Common-law Partners

Canada recognizes common-law partnership for couples that have lived together for at least 12 months. 

The official document that IRCC will ask for is a statutory declaration of common-law union but you must have a lot of supporting documents that will show a legitimate common-law relationship, similar to married couples. 

Conjugal Partners

This category is very interesting as it accepts couples who have been together for at least 1 year but are not married to each other nor have lived together for reasons that are outside of their control. 

For example, one partner is married but cannot be divorced due laws preventing it, there is a fear of persecution due to both partners being of the same sex or from different religious backgrounds, or other reasons.

Children

Adopted children can be sponsored as long as they are under 18 years of age. The adoption process must be completed before the sponsorship application can be submitted.

In the case of natural children, the age limit is 22. 

Parents and Grandparents

As of today, this program remains closed to new intakes, however the requirements ask that the Canadian sponsor can prove familial relationship and meet minimum financial requirements (income over the last 3 years based on the Notice of Tax Assessment). 

Orphaned Minors

Under this category, Canadian sponsors can sponsor their orphaned siblings, nephews, nieces or grandchildren. They must be under the age of 18, related to the sponsor by familial ties or adoption, be single and have both of their parents passed away. 

Other Relatives

This category is also called a “lonely Canadian” and it is suitable for Canadian sponsors who don’t have any living relative such as:

• spouse

• common-law partner

• conjugal partner

• son or daughter

• parent

• grandparent

• orphaned brother or sister

• orphaned nephew or niece

• orphaned grandchild

Canadian sponsors can sponsor only 1 relative under this category and there are no age restrictions for the sponsored person. 

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