Family Class Sponsorship Program

What is Family Class Sponsorship?

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident with a family member yearning to call Canada their new home, the Family Class Sponsorship program offers a pathway to make this dream a reality. Family reunification stands as a cornerstone of Canada’s immigration system, fostering the unity and connection of families across borders.
The Family Class Sponsorship Program facilitates the reunification of families by allowing permanent residents or citizens to sponsor their eligible relatives for immigration to Canada. The program extends its support to a range of family relationships, including:

Who can Become a Sponsor?

Only individuals who are 18 years of age or older and Canadian citizens or permanent residents may sponsor family class members who seek to immigrate to Canada. If the sponsor is already residing abroad, they must demonstrate that they will relocate to Canada after the sponsored person is granted permanent residency. A contract stating that both the sponsor and the sponsored are aware of their responsibilities and obligations must be signed. The person who is sponsoring a family member must also sign a contract pledging to provide for the family member for a predetermined period of time.

Whom You Can Sponsor?

You may be able to sponsor your spouse, partner, or dependent children to become permanent residents of Canada if you are qualified.

Requirements to sponsor:

• Be at least 18 years old;
• Be a Citizen or a Permanent Resident of Canada or if registered as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act.
• You must support them financially
• should be sure they will not be needing social assistance from the government
• Have to provide for their needs upon arriving;

Income requirement:

There are times when an income statement is not needed, however, you need to prove that you have enough resources to the requirements if you will be sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children.

• The sponsors must meet the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) required for the size of their family unit;
• must also have Notices of Assessment (NOA) from the Canada Revenue Agency as evidence that they have done so for at least three years in a row.
• Every time you sponsor a family member to immigrate to Canada, you are required to sign an undertaking pledging financial support for the sponsored family member’s essential needs.

This declaration, which must be included with every application for sponsorship, confirms the sponsor’s promise to pay back any social assistance benefits received for a 20-year period by themselves and any related family members. The type of sponsorship determines how long the effort will last.

Related Links:

To Sponsor Your Spouse for Family Class Sponsorship Canada;

• The two of you should legally be married and at least 18 years of age

To sponsor your common-law partner;

• The two of you should not be legally married and at least 18 years old
• The two of you have been continuously living together for at least 12 months.
• In any case, you have been living apart the time spent apart should be short and temporary

To Sponsor Your Conjugal Partner

• The two of you are not legally married to you or in a common-law relationship with you
• Can be either sex
• Is at least 18 years old
• Has been in a relationship with you for at least 1 year
• Lives outside Canada
• Can’t live with you in their country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons such as:
• Their marital status (for example, they’re still married to someone else in a country where divorce isn’t possible)
• Their sexual preference (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship, and same-sex relationships are not recognized, or same-sex marriage is forbidden where they live),
• Oppression (for example, the two of you have a different religion, and they may be penalized legally or socially)

Note: You have to provide evidence that the two of you could not live together or get married in your conjugal partner’s country (for example, evidence of rejected long-term stays in each other’s country).

You May Sponsor Your Dependent Children if They Meet Both of These Conditions:

• Less than 22 years old
• They don’t have a spouse or common-law partner

Children who are 22 years old or older be eligible as dependents if they meet both of these conditions:

• The children are incapable of financially supporting themselves due to mental or physical condition
• The children are dependent on their parents for financial support prior to the age of 22

Except for age, your dependent child should continue to meet these conditions up until the application process is done.

If Your Child is Eligible, You Can Sponsor

Your own child

• If you are a Canadian citizen, your child may also be a Canadian citizen, though the child is not born in Canada. You may not sponsor your child for permanent residence if the child is a Canadian citizen already.
• If you are sponsoring only your child, and not sponsoring your spouse or partner, you will put in the application your child as the principal applicant. You must be able to show that the other parent or legal guardian approves of your child immigrating to Canada.
• If the child you want to sponsor has a child of their own (your grandchild), you will have to include your grandchild as a dependant in the application.
• If you have an adopted child or an orphaned family member and you want to sponsor them, you must adhere to the guidelines to sponsor your adopted child or orphaned family member instead.

Your Spouse or Partner and Their Child

• If your spouse or partner and a child you are sponsoring (either their own child or a child the two of you had together), you will have to name your spouse or partner as the principal applicant and the child as the dependant in the application.
• If the child you are sponsoring has a child of their own, you will have to include the grandchild as a dependant in the application.

In showing that they meet the admissibility conditions, your spouse, partner, dependent child, and their dependent children (if appropriate).

All the documents and forms needed for their application including Medical exams and Biometrics