Family Sponsorship

Family Sponsorship

A family of four sitting on a couch, looking at a laptop screen together. or a family registered themselves for a family sponsorship Canada,

Family Sponsorship

If your relative becomes the Permanent Resident of Canada, they are allowed to stay, study as well as work in Canada. If you are above 18 years of age, you can sponsor some of your relatives to come and stay in Canada, provided your relative must be:

  • A citizen of Canada
  • A Canadian Permanent Resident
  • An Indian person registered in Canada under the Canadian Indian Act

The Family Sponsorship Canada program works to reunite the families by allowing the adult permanent residents or the citizens to sponsor their relative for migrating to Canada. Eligibility criteria for a person seeking sponsorship are as follows:

  • Must be a spouse, or a common-law partner or a conjugal partner.
  • Must be a dependent child.
  • Must be a parent.
  • Must be a grandparent.
  • Must be a sibling, niece, nephew, or a grandchild who is below 18 years of age, whose parents are deceased and who is unmarried.

The sponsored person must be living outside Canada unless he or she is legally residing in Canada on a temporary basis such as on work visa or a study visa.

 

Related: Find out if you are eligible to sponsor your family

Eligibility for a Spouse or Partner Sponsorship

If an individual falls under the below-mentioned categories, he/she becomes eligible for Spouse or Partner sponsorship:

  • Spouse: Legal marriage registered in the country of origin as well as it is valid under Canadian law.
  • Common-law partner: Minimum of 1 year of an uninterrupted cohabitation being in a conjugal relationship.
  • Conjugal partner: Minimum of 1 year of conjugal partnership (similar to that of a common-law partner) where a couple is not allowed to live together because of religious reasons, immigration barriers, marital status or their sexual orientation.
  • Same-sex relationships: It is considered valid to apply for immigration under these categories.

Dependent Child Sponsorship

A sponsor’s child, or a child from the common-law partner or the sponsor’s spouse, is considered as a dependent child if they are below 22 years of age and unmarried or doesn’t even have a common-law partner. Children above 22 years of age can also be considered dependents only if they are dependent on their parents concerning their financial support, and are not able to support themselves financially because of a mental or physical condition.

Who can become a Sponsor?

Any adult over 18 years of age, who is a Canadian Permanent Resident can become a Sponsor. A sponsor is required to be a Canadian resident.

An individual might not be able to sponsor if:

  • They have committed a crime and are serving their term in prison.
  • They are subjected to have a removal order.
  • They are in the bankruptcy process.
  • The government is providing them with any social assistance except for disability.
  • They have been proven guilty of any violent activity, criminal offence, sexual offence or domestic violence.
  • They were unable to pay their child’s support payments.
  • They were unable to pay back any immigration loans taken, or made any late payments or might have missed some.
  • They belong to the family having a member who failed to meet the requirements in the past
  • They have sponsored their previous partner or spouse who hasn’t been a permanent resident for more than the period of 3 years
  • They have sponsored themselves and have become a permanent resident within a period of fewer than 5 years.

Other Requirements

Fees

The Canadian government charges a nominal fee for the sponsorship program as well as processing fees to process the Family Class sponsorship applications. Moreover, Canada has “Right of Permanent Residence Fee” for all the sponsored relative (not a dependent child). The Right of Permanent Resident Fee is the only fee subjected to refund when the application gets refused or withdrawn.

Family Member Fees ($CAN) Total Fees/Person ($CAN)
Spouse, partner, or relative age 22 or older

– Sponsorship fee ($75)

– Processing fee ($475)

– Right of permanent residence fee ($500)

$1,050
Relative under age 22 and not your dependent child

– Sponsorship fee ($75)

– Processing fee ($75)

– Right of permanent residence fee ($500)

$650
A dependent child adopted child or orphaned relative

– Sponsorship fee ($75)

– Processing fee ($75

$150
Sponsorship Agreement

Notably, the sponsor is liable to provide financial support to the family members in a case that relative is unable to fulfil their own needs. This is only to ensure that the new permanent resident won’t need any sort of assistance from the government. The tenure of this financial obligation completely depends on the sponsored person:

  • The duration is 3 years, in case of a Spouse, a conjugal partner or a common-law partner.
  • 10 Years for a dependent child or till the child becomes 22 years old whichever comes first, and 3 years for a dependent child more than 22 years old.
  • The duration is 20 years for parents and/or grandparents.

Note: This financial obligation will remain the same even if the sponsored person gets divorced or becomes a citizen or gets separated from the sponsor or move outside Canada.

Medical exam

It is mandatory for a sponsored person to undergo the medical examination and submit the reports at the time of application. If the applicant is from the countries such as Europe, Africa and the Middle East, submitting the biometrics becomes mandatory.

Police Certificates

An applicant, as well as each member of the family more than 18 years old, must submit their police verification certificates from their home country where they have spent most of their life, also from any country where they have stayed for the period of more than 6 months.

Quebec Requirements

The province of Quebec has additional criteria for all the applicants applying for family sponsorship only after fulfilling all the federal requirements. After submitting the application, an email will be sent to the prospective sponsors living in Quebec or a letter including all the instructions on submitting a special document or agreement to the government of Quebec.

SIIS

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