Family Class Immigration-Canada
Spousal Sponsorship
Permanent residents living in Canada and Canadian citizens living in or out of Canada may sponsor their spouses, common-law partners, conjugal partners and the dependent children of those persons to enter Canada as permanent residents.
For an explanation of this procedure, please see the BE Wiki article entitled Spousal Sponsorship-Canada.
Sponsoring a Family Member or Relative
A permanent resident of Canada who is living in Canada or a Canadian citizen may sponsor a relative's permanent residence application as a Family Class Immigrant if that person is a:
- parent
- grandparent
- child adopted outside of Canada or intended to be adopted in Canada
- brother or sister, nephew or niece, grandson or granddaughter who is orphaned, under 18 years of age and not a spouse or common-law partner
- another relative of any age or relationship if none of the above relatives could be sponsored, and you have no other relatives who are Canadian citizens, persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act or permanent residents; and
- accompanying relatives of the above (for example, spouse, partner and dependent children)
The sponsor signs an undertaking that he/she will support the sponsored family member, if necessary, for a specified length of time. In the case of a parent or grandparent, for example, the financial commitment is for ten years.
The application process can be lengthy. An application for a parent or grandparent can take 5-10 years to be processed.
Official source here: CIC Sponsor a relative
Minor Child
A permanent resident of Canada may sponsor his/her dependent child who was born outside of Canada.
A child is dependent if he/she:
- is under the age of 22 and does not have a spouse or common-law partner, or
- is a full-time student and has been substantially dependent on a parent for financial support since before the age of 22, or since becoming a spouse or common-law partner (if this happened before age 22), or
- has been financially dependent on a parent since before the age of 22 because of a disability.
Related Information
- Family Sponsorship section of CIC's website.
- BE Wiki article entitled Retiring in Canada