family sponsorship programs

The spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner seeking to immigrate to Canada must be sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, who must also submit a sponsorship application in support of the foreign spouse. The application can be lodged Inland (with open work permit option) or Outland. When the application is approved immigration will grant a change of status to permanent resident for applicants inside Canada and for outside Canada this status will be granted once they enter the country. 

The family sponsorship program helps reunite families by allowing Canadian citizens or permanent residents who are the parents of a child abroad to apply to sponsor their child or other dependent, for Canadian permanent residence. 

To be eligible for sponsorship, children must meet the definition of a dependent child. Whether they are the biological or adopted child of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, a child is considered to be a dependent if they are not married or in a common-law relationship and are under the age of 22. A child over the age of 22 will be considered a dependent if they suffer from a physical or mental condition that prevents them from being able to support themselves. 

The minimum income requirement to the sponsor is only applicable when the dependent child being sponsored has a child/children of their own

 To be eligible to sponsor:   

• You must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident
• You must be 18 years of age or older
• You must meet or exceed the minimum necessary income (MNI) requirement for Family Sponsorship
• You must sign an undertaking agreement that commits you to provide financial support for your sponsored parents or grandparents and repay any provincial social assistance benefits paid to the sponsored family members for 20 years. 
• If the sponsor lives in Quebec, an additional undertaking agreement must be signed

The sponsor enters a lottery system draw which is normally held between January-February of every year. Once invited, a complete application must be submitted online within 60 days. 

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