Sponsorship

Under its Immigration Levels Plan, Canada aims to welcome over 100,000 family class immigrants each year. About 80 per cent of these immigrants are welcomed under the Spouses, Partners, and Children Program, and the remaining 20 per cent under the Parents and Grandparents Program.

What is Sponsorship?

There are two main aspects to sponsorship:

  1. It allows your family member to immigrate to Canada and get permanent residence (PR).

  2. It requires you, as an individual, to make a commitment to provide for basic needs and to support that person financially.

Who can be a Sponsor?

To sponsor a family member, you are required to meet several requirements such as being:

  • a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada

  • 18 years of age or older

  • able to support the sponsored person for several years

Who can be Sponsored?

  • Spouses and common-law partners

  • Dependent children

  • Parents and grandparents

There are exceptions to this rule, however, and it may be possible to sponsor a non-immediate family member (for example, a sister, niece, or uncle) if:

  • you do not have any other immediate family members you could sponsor, or

  • you have legally adopted them and they meet the definition of a dependent child.

What are the Income Requirements to Sponsor?

As a sponsor, you are required to sign a Sponsorship Agreement with your sponsored family member. This is a commitment by you to provide financial support for the basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, and health needs not covered by public health services) of the person you are sponsoring.

For some types of sponsorships, you will also have to meet or exceed the Low Income Cut-off (LICO), for instance if:

  • you are sponsoring a spouse or partner who has a dependent child and that dependent child has one or more children of their own, or

  • you are sponsoring a dependent child who has one or more dependent children of their own, or

  • you are sponsoring a parent or grandparent.

If you reside in Quebec, you will have to meet Quebec’s sponsorship requirements and your income will be assessed by the Quebec immigration ministry.

What is a Sponsorship Undertaking?

You will be required to sign an “undertaking” making you legally responsible for the family member you are sponsoring. If that family member should need government social assistance, you will have to repay this money.

The undertaking will stay in effect for a period of time based on the family member you are sponsoring and will not be cancelled even if circumstances change (i.e. if the person you are sponsoring becomes a Canadian citizen, if you divorce or separate, if you have financial problems).

The length of the undertaking you will be required to sign will depend on the family member you are sponsoring and, in the case of children, their age:

  • Spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner: 3 years

  • Dependent child: 10 years or until 25 years old, whichever comes first

  • Parent or grandparent: 20 years

  • Other relative: 10 years

How to Apply for Family Sponsorship?

  • Step 1: Ensure you meet eligibility criteria to be a sponsor.

  • Step 2: Ensure that the relatives you intend to sponsor meet eligibility criteria.

  • Step 3: You will need to apply at the federal level to the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) and, if you are a Quebec resident, at the provincial level to the Ministry of Immigration, Francization, and Integration (MIFI). You must submit your sponsorship application and the permanent residence (PR) status applications of your family members or relatives together. Once you have been deemed eligible to sponsor, your PR application will be reviewed.

  • Step 4: You will be required to pay the family sponsorship application fee.

  • Step 5: Send your application to the right address. You will find this information in the sponsorship guide that is available for download on the government website.