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:
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:
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:
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:
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 The Right of Permanent Resident Fee is the only fee subjected to refund when the application gets refused or withdrawn.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:
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.