Family Sponsorship

• Spousal and Children
• Parent and Grandparent
• Other Relative

The Spousal Sponsorship Category

A Canadian citizen or permanent resident may sponsor a spouse or common-law partner for permanent residence in Canada through this scheme.

• After the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident, the sponsor is financially liable for the sponsored person for three years.
• The sponsor and the sponsored individual must demonstrate that their relationship falls into one of three categories:
• Conjugal Partner
• Spouse
• Common-law Partner

NOTE: Canada accepts same-sex marriage, and same-sex partners may be eligible to apply under any of the three categories listed above if they meet all of the criteria.

Following Sponsorship

Under the Spousal Sponsorship scheme, permanent residence is given subject to the following conditions:

• After the sponsored person becomes a permanent residence, the sponsor is financially liable for the sponsored person for three years.
• If some one come to Canada after being sponspored by spouse, he /she is prohibited from sponsoring someone else as spouse for five years after obtaining permanent residence in Canada.
• Spouses/partners who have been in a relationship for two years or less and have no children in common at the time of application submission, a two-year “legitimate relationship” regulation applies to them. Once in Canada, the sponsored individual must live in a “legitimate relationship” with their spouse/partner for two years or risk having their permanent residency cancelled. Sponsored spouses or partners who are victims of abuse or neglect will be granted sponsorship on exception basis.

Parent And Grandparent Sponsorship

A stream for parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens and permanent residents is available through the Family Class sponsorship programme. Parents and grandparents who are successful in this programme will be granted permanent residency in Canada and may be eligible to seek for Canadian citizenship after four years. The sponsor in Canada must meet the following requirements to be eligible for Family Class sponsorship:

• The sponsor must be at least 18 years old.
• The sponsor must have income more than the program’s minimum income requirement (if married or in a common-law relationship, both incomes can be included);
• The sponsor must sign an undertaking to repay any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsor and accompanying family member(s), if any, for a period of two years; and If the sponsor lives in Quebec, an additional “undertaking” need to be signed.

Sponsors must establish that they satisfy the minimum income requirements by presenting notifications of assessment issued by the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) in support of their sponsorship, as well as proving that they have met the required income level for three years in a row.