Sponsorship Applications

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can apply for the sponsorship if:

• Are at least 18 years of age;
• Are a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident of Canada or a person registered in Canada as an Indian under the Canadian Indian Act;
• If you’re a Canadian citizen living outside Canada, you must show that you plan to live in Canada when the persons you want to sponsor become permanent residents;
• You can’t sponsor someone if you’re a permanent resident living outside Canada;

• You’re able to prove that you’re not receiving social assistance for reasons other than a disability; and
• You can provide for the basic needs of any persons you want to sponsor.

You may not be eligible to sponsor your spouse or partner if you:

• were sponsored by a spouse or partner and you became a permanent resident less than 5 years ago, or
• are still financially responsible for a previous spouse or partner that you sponsored -- This means you’re still bound by an undertaking to take care of this person

Income requirement

Besides sponsoring parents and grandparents, in most cases, there isn’t an income requirement to sponsor your spouse or partner or dependent child. You only need to prove that you have sufficient funds to meet income requirements if:

• you’re sponsoring a dependent child that has 1 or more dependent children of their own, or
• you’re sponsoring a spouse or partner that has a dependent child and their dependent child has 1 or more children of their own.

Canadian citizens and permanent residents can sponsor their:

• Spouse;
• Common-law partner;
• Conjugal partner;
• Dependent child (under 22, including a natural and adopted child, and they do not have a spouse or common-law partner);
• Parents (and they are under 22 dependent children under 22); and
• Grandparents.

If the applicants are in Canada by themselves, and there are no relatives above, then they can sponsor any of their relatives.

For parents and grandparents, there is also the Super Visa program to consider.