family sponsorship
Family: A Link to our past and a bridge to our future.
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Introduction
One of the keystones of immigration policy is family reunification. The Immigration of Canada has been facilitating the reunion of Canadian citizens and permanent residents with their family members in Canada from overseas. As per the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act section 3(1)(d), “The objectives of this Act with respect to immigration are to see that families are reunited in Canada.
The family class program is a two-step process:
1. Sponsorship application – Canadian citizen/permanent resident submits an application to IRCC to sponsor family members in Canada. IRCC gives approval to become a sponsor if he/she meets all the requirements to be a sponsor. Sponsor’s requirements are as follows:
· Be 18 years of age or older
· A Canadian Citizen or permanent resident
· File an application to sponsor a member of the family class or the spouse/common-law partner in Canada class
· Reside in Canada (Except a Canadian citizen who is seeking to sponsor his/her spouse if the sponsor has an intention to reside in Canada after the family member becomes permanent resident)
2. Permanent Residence application – This application is presented with the sponsorship application to IRCC. It expresses the interest of a foreign family member to become a permanent resident. The family member is granted permanent resident status once he/ she meets all the requirements. The following family members are considered as a member of the family class:
- Spouse, Common-law Partner, or Conjugal partner (At least 18 years old)
- Dependent children (Biological children and Adopted children)
- Parents
- Grandparents
- Orphan children under 18 to be adopted in Canada who are siblings, nieces, nephews, or grandchildren of the sponsor
- Any other relatives of any age or relationship if none of the above relatives could be sponsored and if the sponsor has no other relatives who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents or who are registered as Indians under the Indian Act
Every sponsor, who wishes to sponsor his/her family members, must sign a sponsorship agreement (undertaking) to provide basic needs to sponsored persons. The time period for undertaking depends on a relationship with a foreign family member. The terms for the undertaking are as follows:
Person Sponsored | Term of Undertaking | |
Spouse, common-law or conjugal Partner | 3 years | |
Dependent Child | Under 22 years of age when receiving permanent status | 10 years or until the dependent reaches age 25, whichever comes first |
22 years of age or older when receiving permanent resident status | 3 years | |
Sponsor’s father, mother, grandfather or grandmother and any accompanying family members | 20 years | |
Any other person not mentioned above | 10 years | |
Spouse, Common-law Partner or Conjugal Partner
Canadian permanent resident and citizens can sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner and bring them to Canada to live with them permanently. A sponsored person obtains permanent resident status if the IRCC approves the application; moreover, Canada also recognizes same-sex relationships, and individuals are eligible under these programs. These all three programs have slightly different criteria and can be found in the following links.
To be eligible under this program,
- A sponsor and the sponsored person must be legally married to each other.
- Spouse and Sponsored person must be at least 18 years old.
- The marriage must be recognized where it took place, and also meet the Canadian government obligations.
- Must be in a genuine relationship.
- A polygamous marriage is not permitted.
To be eligible under this program
- A sponsor and the sponsored person are not legally married to each other.
- Both are at least 18 years old.
- They are living together and in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 consecutive months. This means they are interdependent financially, socially, emotionally, and physically.
To be eligible under this program:
- A sponsor and the sponsored person are not legally married or in a common-law relationship.
- They are in a conjugal relationship for at least 12 months.
- Both are at least 18 years old.
- The sponsored person is living outside Canada and is unable to live with the sponsor because of legal and immigration barriers.
Financial Requirement: A sponsor must meet the income requirement to be able to sponsor the following family members of the family class:
- Parents/grandparents
- a dependent child who has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or
- a spouse or partner who has a dependent child and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.
Parents and grandparents sponsorship program
Each year, the Government of Canada has been giving an opportunity to Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents. The sponsor must meet the sponsor’s requirements as mentioned above and also the financial requirement of the minimum necessary income plus 30% for the 3 consecutive years right before the application submission day. The income requirements to sponsor parents/grandparents in 2022 are as follows:
Total numbers of people | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
2 | $32,898 | $32,270 | $41,007 |
3 | $40,444 | $39,672 | $50,414 |
4 | $49,106 | $46,167 | $61,209 |
5 | $55,694 | $54,630 | $69,423 |
6 | $62,814 | $61,613 | $78,296 |
7 | $69,934 | $68,598 | $87,172 |
For each additional member, add: | $7,120 | $6,985 | $8,876 |