Spousal & Family Sponsorship Programs

Canada offers several programs for permanent residents or citizens to sponsor their family members for immigration. These programs are designed to facilitate family reunification and allow sponsored individuals to live, study, and work in Canada as permanent residents.

1. Spouse, Common-Law Partner, or Conjugal Partner Sponsorship: This program allows Canadian citizens or permanent residents to sponsor their spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner. The sponsored individual does not require a job offer in Canada to be eligible under this program. The sponsor can apply under the Family Class or the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada Class, depending on the circumstances.

2. Dependent Children Sponsorship: Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their biological or adopted children under the age of 22 for permanent residency.

3. Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship: This program allows Canadian citizens and permanent residents to sponsor their parents and grandparents for immigration to Canada. Sponsors are required to demonstrate that they can financially support their family by meeting the Minimum Necessary Income (MNI) for the size of their family unit.

4. Other Relatives Sponsorship: In some rare circumstances, Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents may be eligible to sponsor one extended relative to come to Canada. To sponsor a relative that falls outside of Canada’s current Family Class definition, sponsors must be considered a “Lonely Canadian”. This means the sponsor has no spouse, common-law partner, child, parent, or grandparent.

Each of these sponsorship programs has its own eligibility criteria and application process. If a sponsorship application is denied, the sponsor may appeal the decision to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board in Canada (IRB) within 30 days after the rejection. However, not all applications that have been refused can be appealed. For example, a sponsor may not appeal if the application is denied due to serious criminal offenses, security reasons, or misrepresentation, with the exception of a spouse, a common-law partner, conjugal partner, or child.

It’s important for potential sponsors to thoroughly research each program to determine which one is the best fit for their specific situation.

Citations:

[1] https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html

[2] https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship.html

[3] https://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/making-immigration-appeal/Pages/immapp-a1.aspx

[4] https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/family-sponsorship/spouse-partner-children.html

[5] https://www.irb-cisr.gc.ca/en/forms/Pages/notice-of-appeal-sponsorship.aspx

[6] https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/tourism-immigration/immigrating-to-bc/sponsorship

[7] https://irb.gc.ca/en/making-immigration-appeal/Pages/sponsorship-decision-bad-faith-relationship.aspx?=undefined&wbdisable=true

[8] https://irb.gc.ca/en/making-immigration-appeal/Pages/immapp-a3.aspx