Family Sponsorship to Canada

For Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor a family member to Canada as a permanent resident

Family sponsorship allows families to unite and live together in Canada.

It is important to know who can be included in a family sponsorship to Canada application as not all family members belong to the family class defined by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. In this page, you will find out more information about Canada's family sponsorship process and requirements.

Table of Contents

Who Can Be Sponsored?

Eligible Canadian citizens and permanent residents are able to sponsor foreign nationals who are outside of Canada that belong to the family class to obtain permanent resident status, subject to regulations. According to section 117 of the Regulations, members of the family class can be:

the sponsor's spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner
a dependent child of the sponsor (under 22 years old, with exceptions)
parents and grandparents of the sponsor
a person whose parents are deceased and is a sibling, niece, nephew or grandchild of the sponsor, if they are under 18 years old
a person under 18 years old who the sponsor intends to adopt, subject to regulations
a relative of the sponsor, subject to regulations

Sponsor Requirements

The basic requirements of the sponsor, according to section 130 and 133 of the Regulations, are that they:

are at least 18 years old
reside in Canada, unless exempted
have filed a sponsorship application for the family member in accordance with the Regulations
are not subject to a removal order
have not been convicted of certain offenses in the Criminal Code
meets the minimum necessary income requirement for sponsoring that family member, unless exempted

Processing times for family sponsorship to Canada can take more than 12 months to complete.

Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class

The spouse or common-law partner of a sponsor who is already in Canada can be included in a family sponsorship to Canada application for permanent residence. The name of this pathway is the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class. There are three main criteria to be a member of this class as per section 124 of the Regulations:

The spouse or common-law partner of the sponsor cohabit with each other in Canada
The spouse or common-law partner has valid temporary resident status in Canada
The spouse or common-law partner is the subject of a sponsorship application

Whether your application for family sponsorship to Canada is for a family member inside or outside of Canada, the sponsor must meet the obligations of a sponsorship undertaking.

Sponsorship Undertaking

Family sponsorship to Canada imposes some conditions on the sponsor that they must fulfill. The sponsor must sign a Sponsorship Undertaking between them and the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration or a province which has its own separate undertaking agreement, such as Quebec. 

The sponsor has to ensure that they will financially support them and the sponsored person will not require any social assistance benefits provided by the government during the duration of the undertaking. The length of the undertaking depends on who the sponsored person is. In the event that the sponsored person requires such benefits, it is the obligation of the sponsor to pay back these costs.

According to the Government of Canada website, the duration of the sponsorship undertaking with the Minister are as follows:

Spouse or common-law partner - 3 years
Dependent child - under 22 years old - 10 years or when they turn 25 years old; whichever comes first 
Dependent child - 22 years old or more - 3 years
Parent or grandparent - 20 years

While this page is not an exhaustive list of all the requirements for family sponsorship to Canada, it serves to help you understand the fundamentals. Immigration laws and regulations are subject to change, which is why you should check out the Government of Canada website or book a consultation.

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